Picking Up the Broken Glass
by Kawaii Stella
Summary: Orphaned at 17. Alone and an outcast. Can Echo's life get any worse? Will it ever get better? Thrown into a new world where she knows no one, Echo needs to find a way to fix her shattered soul. Not a part of the Things Unknown Saga. Alternate story.
1. Abandoned

A/N: Hi everyone! This is my new fanfic, Picking Up The Broken Glass. In this story it's like my fics in the Things Unknown Saga never happened. This is an alternate version of how Things Unknown and its stories could've gone. As the story progresses, you'll really begin to see that it's like those stories never happened. I still hope that you'll like this story too! For those of you waiting for the conclusions of Things Unknown and You Can't Escape, don't worry. They're on their way soon. Please read, Review, and Enjoy! I like feedback!

Disclaimer: I don't own Cyberchase but Echo Glasgow is mine.

Picking Up the Broken Glass

Kawaii Stella

Chapter One

Abandoned

~Earth~

~Glasgow Family Meeting~

"You have to leave now. Bad things loom on the horizon, and for your safety you must be given up." A male elder said.

"Not safe? You all know I can fight off enemies in my sleep!" Echo retorted.

"We're well aware that you can defend your homeland," another clan elder said in her thick Scottish accent. "However, you are not even prepared to face what we fear comes this way. So for your own good your parents are relinquishing their guardianship of you."

"What!?" Echo said, shocked, as a younger clan member brought to her a few small bags pre-packed with some of her belongings.

"You may only return to this world for your schooling until it is right for you to return home. It is time for you to go."

A bright swirling portal then opened and Echo along with her belongings were sucked into it. When she fell out of it, she saw her surroundings were like those of an old western town. A female southern accented voice came from behind her.

"Here's the new arrival," the lady said. Echo looked behind her to see who appeared to be a police officer. "I'm Sheriff Judy. Come with me, Ms. Glasgow, the Judge is waiting for you."

Echo slowly rose to her feet and Sheriff Judy took her into a building with a sign that read "Sensible Flats Courthouse".

"Here she is, sis," Judy told her sister, Trudy, the judge of the small town.

The judge addressed Echo. "Echo Glasgow. You are here because your parents have given you up for adoption. You are on this Cybersite because your parents chose the orphanage here as where you will make your new home. Do you have any questions?"

"I'm almost seventeen, why must I live in an orphanage?"

"Your parents chose for you to stay here. They could've chosen to allow you to live on your own, but they didn't." Sheriff Judy explained.

"Per rules of the orphanage, you are only allowed to keep things such as clothes, toiletries, books, notebooks, and such. No electronics will be permitted unless consent is given. Possessions that have accompanied you that are prohibited will be kept in your personal vault here at the courthouse. You will be given a lockable trunk to safely store your other belongings since you will be sharing a room with four other girls. Understood?" Trudy explained.

"Yes ma'am."

"Okay."

Echo was then taken to the building at the end of the street, marked simply "Orphanage". The caretaker, Miss Abigail Truehart, met Echo at the front desk. Other orphans roamed the room yet stayed in very close cliques. They looked at Echo like she was a pile of rotten meat. Echo decided to ignore it, figuring they thought she was some kind of emotional train wreck. She stopped thinking about the other kids because Ms. Truehart began speaking to Echo in a sickeningly sweet southern accent.

"Well my stars! Aren't you the cutest little thing? You must be Miss Echo Glasgow. We've been waiting for you," She said with a small smile. "I do believe I should introduce myself before I show you around! My name is Miss Abigail Truehart and I sincerely hope we become friends! Now, we should have just enough time before supper to give you the grand tour! Follow me, Miss Echo!"

And so Echo followed Miss Abigail Truehart for the grand tour of the orphanage. However, it could hardly be called grand. In truth, the orphanage was a rundown dump. They went through every corridor and into every room. Echo was shown the girls' corridor and the boys', the outdoor "fun area" as Truehart put it, the bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, and living room. She was shown her room, room F, and given the key to her trunk where she stored her belongings under the ever watchful eye of Ms. Truehart. At last they re-entered the main lobby, which, Echo assumed, was probably where most of the funding the orphanage got went, because it was a thousand times better than the rest of the place.

". . . and that is the grand tour!" Ms. Truehart concluded. "I know it will take a bit of getting used to, but you'll figure it out. Dinner will be in five minutes and remember you may sit anywhere you like, Echo." Truehart then left for the kitchen.

Echo decided to go sit in the vacant chair in the far corner while she waited. As she walked across the room, one of the boys sneered, "What kind of a freak name is Echo?"

Echo wisely chose to ignore the "freak" part of the boy's comment. This boy appeared to be very arrogant at about fifteen years of age. He had blonde hair and eerie blue eyes.

"Echo is my name. Do you have a problem with that?"

"As a matter of fact I do. I, like the rest of us here, are what your world would call, well, just near perfect. I can tell that with your hippie name that you won't fit in here at all. So you'd be better off just running away to die."

"No one is perfect. I didn't come here of my own will. Trust me. I wouldn't be here if I had a choice. Who said I wanted to fit in anyway? Be civil with me and I'll do likewise."

Before Echo could lose her temper, Ms. Truehart called all the children to dinner. Echo was one of the last to enter the dining hall. When she got her tray of not too shabby looking food, Echo saw that she was correct in her hunch that these people had tightly knit cliques. There was only one chair left at a desolately deserted table. That lonely table was where Echo sat by herself. She listened to a group of girls who sat in front of her. Their words were not kind in the least. Their words were like swords. Echo needed no names to know exactly who they spoke of. Her.

From a young age Echo had learned how to keep a good poker face. Echo knew quickly that she would use her poker face a lot here. She finished her meal and quietly slipped from the hall. If anyone asked, she would say that she was tired and had had a long day.

Echo went to her room and sat on her bed. It was old and hard, but at least not squeaky. Before she could even get a notebook from her trunk, the ever noisy Truehart popped her curly brown haired head in the door.

In her sickly sweet accent she said, "Are you alright, sweetie?"

"Yes ma'am, I'm fine; just tired." Echo responded.

"You're so proper! That's adorable! I understand that you're tired. Why don't you go get in the shower first so you can relax? But first I need to take an identification photo of you."

"Alright." So Echo got her picture taken then grabbed her bath things and took her shower, feeling only the slightest bit relaxed. She went back to room F and climbed onto her bed with a notebook and pencil from her trunk. Absentmindedly she began to sketch, not even thinking about what she drew. By the time she was starting to darken the outline of her sketch, her four roommates entered the room laughing shrilly. They stopped in the doorway and became silent as they saw Echo sitting in her pajamas with her red hair pulled up into a ponytail. What struck them silent was that Echo was drawing. Echo was so enveloped in her art that she didn't even notice the girls enter. The foursome didn't like that at all. They demanded attention.

"AHEM!" One girl all but bellowed, spooking Echo. "Now that I have you attention," the girl, about 16, said snottily. "Since you are new here and obviously naïve, I will give you a few, generous, pieces of advice. The first bit is who we are. I am Samantha Goldburg. These are my besties Emma, Alice, and Dior. Don't even bother telling is your name. We already know of you, Echo, and even if we didn't, we wouldn't care. Secondly, don't think you'll fit in here. This is OUR territory. You just stay in your own little bubble thingy. Don't talk to us unless we speak to you. Got it?"

"Fine with me. I don't like to speak with airhead snots anyway." Echo said testily, her Scottish accent showing through.

"_Airhead snots_? You have a lot of nerve to talk to us like that, you… you no good piece of foreign trash! We are the most amazing and most fashionable people here! Talk to us like that and regret it!" Emma screeched.

Echo was losing her temper fast, and, for someone who had fought as many wars as she had, that was an extremely bad thing. "You don't look fashionable at all to me. I've been to fashion week. I know fashion. And I ain't afraid of twigs like you!"

They all heard Truehart coming down the hall for bed checks, so they calmed down for the moment being. Echo no longer had any desire to draw. She put her stuff in her trunk and locked it. She wasn't about to take any chances with these girls.

After lights out Echo had calmed down considerably, even though after Truehart had come and gone, Dior had remarked, "This isn't over yet!" Echo thought that she was just talking trash. Boy, Echo regretted that thought. Almost fifteen minutes after lights out, Echo felt pressure on her legs. Someone was holding her down. She tried to fight back but then two more sets of hands held her shoulders down.

A voice, unmistakably Samantha's, growled, "How dare you speak like that to us! You're going to pay, you Irish piece of junk. Don't you even think about squealing either!"

Echo only had time to think the words, "I'm Scottish, not Irish!" Before she felt a number of sharp punches hit across her back and sides. She lifted her head to protest but one of the girls shoved a washcloth into her mouth to keep her quiet.

For almost ten minutes she was punched and jabbed relentlessly all over her body except for her face. Finally the girls tired and went to bed. Echo spat out the washcloth then curled up under her comforter. She was in so much pain. As she fell asleep, Echo desperately prayed she wouldn't be here long. Then, her world went black.


	2. Beginning to Break

**A/N: Hi everyone! I know the story's been kinda slow so far. It'll start picking up soon I promise. Please read, review, and enjoy! Love, Kawaii Stella**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cyberchase.**

Picking Up the Broken Glass

Kawaii Stella

Chapter Two

Beginning to Break

~Almost Two Weeks Later~

It had been twelve days since Echo had arrived at the orphanage. From the time of her arrival, Echo had learned that she wasn't simply in an old west town. When she had first arrived, Echo had thought that a cybersite was like a county in her world. But she quickly found out it was more like a state by itself in this futuristic computer world. And apparently there were a lot more Cybersites out there; all ruled by one lady, someone called "Motherboard". Echo had learned all this by quietly listening in on people. Echo didn't talk much at all, not since that first night at the orphanage. She sighed as she remembered the morning after her first night at the orphanage.

/V\/V\/V\/V\/V\

_ Echo was the last girl in her room to get up. From the sound of things, everybody was already downstairs eating breakfast. The clock on the wall showed it was about ten minutes to eight. Since Echo rarely ate a big breakfast, she went into the bathroom to get dressed and to see just how bad her back and sides looked._

_ With the bathroom door closed and locked tight, Echo tentatively lifted up her shirt in front of the mirror. What she saw was not pretty. Her sides had a few black and blue bruises. Her back was the worst. It seemed as if every square inch was covered in bruises, ranging in color from a sickly yellow to a dark purple. Echo carefully ran her hand over her back and winced from the considerable pain._

_ Echo heeded the advice not to squeal. She had a feeling that she would be beaten again if she told- only a lot harder this time. Echo never told a soul that Samantha and her girlfriends had all but beaten her to a pulp. They hadn't come near her again, probably because Echo hadn't said a word to them since. That didn't mean that there hadn't been other attacks, though._

_ Yes, the beatings had continued, from boys and girls alike. Chivalry was apparently dead with the boys at the orphanage, because they were the ones who treated Echo the worst out of everyone. At first it was just teasing. They made fun of her accent, clothes, personality, and her art. Anytime they caught her doing anything artistic, the boys would grab her sketch book and keep it from her reach. (Echo was rather short at five feet tall.) After a few days of teasing, things got more serious. The boys began to hit her. Like the girls, they never hit where it would be suspicious. The bruises which did show were simply called "accidents". Things had certainly not improved in the least._

/V\/V\/V\/V\/V\

Echo sighed again. Despite her attempt at staying away from everyone else, Echo just couldn't stay alone. They still beat her. In two days, on Tuesday, Echo would mark her second week at the orphanage. Today Echo looked out of the bedroom window to see that this would be a very dismal Sunday. The sky was a pale blue-grey and from the cloud formations and Echo knew that there would be a large summer thunderstorm before the day was out.

Sundays were "beauty sleep" days for Samantha and her clique. So, at 7:30 a.m. Echo saw that they were all still sound asleep. Echo was at least a little bit happy knowing that they wouldn't be bothering her today. Sunday was just about the only day she ate breakfast, because back home Echo's family had a tradition of having large, filling meals on Sundays when everyone could get together and be happy.

Just thinking of her family made Echo unbelievably homesick and depressed.

"Momma… Why?" Echo sadly asked as she went downstairs for breakfast.

In the dining hall Echo tried to keep her family's tradition alive, but this was dreadfully hard to do all by herself. The lame breakfast didn't help either. Back home Echo's Sunday breakfast would consist of eggs, bacon, biscuits, gravy, and cheese covered hash browns. At the orphanage the food looked like pig slop at breakfast. They served a very nasty oatmeal, burnt toast, and orange juice.

"This is disgusting," Echo muttered to her food. She kept her head down as to not look anyone in the eyes. Usually they left Echo alone in the dining hall, but not today. As she tried to stomach the food, three boys, all about Echo's age, walked up to Echo's table with maniacal grins on their faces.

"Well look at this, boys." A tall, dark haired teen with pale blue eyes said to his friends. "Miss Echo has decided to grace us with her presence this morning. Oops, I meant to say _dis_graced!" The three laughed, and as they walked away, one of the other two told the leader, "Nice one, Ledge!"

_Ledge, so that's his name_, Echo thought to herself. _I don't like the vibe I'm getting off of him. He seems almost… evil._

After the boys' visit, Echo no longer felt like trying to eat her meal. She put her things away and crept upstairs to get her notebook and pencils. She didn't want the others to see her with her art supplies, so through an old, rotted wooden door, Echo snuck outside.

The backyard of the orphanage was fairly normal. It reminded Echo of a park. The lawn was green and at the farthest perimeter, there were concrete walls keeping everyone in. Since no one usually went as far out as the perimeter wall, that's where she went. Near the far south-west corner, Echo sat down on a small patch of grass surrounded by crumbling concrete. As Echo looked around she saw no one in sight. With a bit of relief, Echo tried to draw a new picture.

Echo's old, tattered sketchbook had been just about everywhere with her. The metal spiral binding was now dull and bent out of shape. The covers were bent, torn, and frayed. Inside the covers were three hundred pages, with nearly two hundred already filled with everything from doodles to random sketches to fully drawn and shaded pictures. In between some pages were other sketches and drawings Echo had done. Some were folded so much that they looked abstract.

Today Echo started to draw something she drew quite frequently now: a quaint angel with blood splattered wings holding some sort of weapon.

Used to, most of her drawings were happy and uplifting. Now, everything was dark and disturbing. That probably had to do with the fact that since her arrival, Echo felt more and more fragile. Her soul had become like glass. Every time she was teased or attacked it cracked a little more.

Echo sighed in depression, not noticing that a few boys her age had approached her.

"Well what do we have here?" One boy said, trying to take the sketchbook from Echo's arms.

"Leave me alone!" Echo begged, holding onto her sketchbook for dear life.

"Give it here; we just want to see what you're drawing." Another boy said, trying to get her to let go. Echo did not budge, keeping the book pressed into her chest.

"No!" Echo protested and held on tight until one of the boys tried a more forceful tactic.

The first boy pulled the notebook to where Echo's arms were fully extended out. Then, two other boys slammed their forearms into Echo's, causing extensive pain. The pain seared through her arms, forcing her to let go of the sketchbook. However, the ringleader wasn't holding the book tight enough and it flew from his hands, the loose sketches flying everywhere.

Echo, her eyes full of tears from the pain, couldn't take it anymore. Since she was short, Echo quickly spun and kicked one of the boys straight in the balls. He fell to the ground with a yelp, clutching his boys in pain. Echo's act of retaliation crossed the line with the other two boys. To them the gloves were off. They went after Echo with no hesitation. They threw punches and all landed at their expected destination, except for one. One punch landed right in Echo's face, right in the eye.

Once the boys had realized where that last punch had landed, they began to panic. Their panic did not last long, because they realized that they still had the upper hand here.

"Don't you even dare try to pin this on us." One said.

"Yeah!" another added. "Nobody will believe you anyway."

The three ran off, leaving Echo all alone. Wiping the tears from her eyes Echo picked up her sketchbook and set out to retrieve all fifty-two of her loose sketches. It was like trying to play fifty-two pick-up with a deck of cards, Echo thought. Get all the cards together again before time runs out. A slight breeze had taken the sketches against the wall down from Echo. It didn't take her very long to gather almost all of her sketches again. One had somehow flown over the concrete wall and gotten stuck in a tree on the other side. This wall was crumbling too, making it easy to climb. A small orange floppy disc looking thing was tossed over to Echo's side before she had even begun to climb. She picked it up, studied it a moment, and then began to make her way up the wall.

At the top of the wall, Echo began to reach for her drawing, which was lodged in a scrawny branch. Just as she was close enough for her fingertips to brush it, her drawing fluttered to the ground below.

"Well crap," Echo grumbled to herself. Then, a purple bird robot thing flew up to her.

"Uh, excuse me, miss?" the bird thing asked Echo.

"Yes?"

"By any chance have you come across a small orange chip?" It asked.

"This thing?" Echo asked, pulling the chip from her back pocket.

"Yes! Thank you so much!"

"No problem. Hey, could you grab that drawing for me?"

"Sure!"

"Thanks," Echo said.

Then three kids ran up yelling, "Dige, come on! Let's get outta here!" The bird flew off after the kids and Echo descended the wall.

Tentatively she touched her face to find it had already begun to swell. Great. Just how was she going to hide this? The answer was that she couldn't. She was just going to have to deal with it. Echo would simply have to endure Truehart's prodding questions.

There was a rainstorm blowing in so Echo went back in the building through the same way she had come out. However, to her misfortune, none other than Miss Abigail Truehart was in the hallway. Some not too lady like words flitted through Echo's head.

"My stars, Echo! Just what did you do to your face?" She asked.

"I did nothing to my face," Echo said truthfully.

"Then what happened?" Truehart inquired, her voice already steeled against Echo's argument.

Echo was displeased by that.

"They," Echo said in a spiteful tone, "Beat the tar out of me not ten minutes ago." She nodded her head towards the three boys who sat in the lobby.

"Them? They would never do such a thing! You must have provoked them."

"I did not provoke them! They attacked me!"

"Echo! How dare you say such absurd things! You really need to work on getting along with people. I think you can just stay in solitary for the rest of your time here, young lady."

"Fine by me," Echo spat, angered that Truehart had taken the boys' side.

Echo's trunk was swiftly transferred to the sole solitary confinement cell. In Echo's opinion, the cell wasn't all that bad. It was actually it was better than her old room. The walls were a grayish white and the small windows were barred like a prison cell but she had a lot more space. She also had her own small bathroom, which was clean and tidy, even with Echo's toiletries on the small shelf. The wall with the door had a large Plexiglas window, which Echo could turn dark with the press of a button. Her meals would now be brought to her, so the lunch room drama would be a thing of the past.

The only thing that sucked was that now she had even more time to think about how much she missed home. From a young age, Echo's grandmother had taught her that singing was the best way to get through hard times. So, for the rest of the day and night she sung to herself. She continued singing the next morning.


	3. A Promise

**A/N: Here's chapter three. Sorry it took so long but I've been working on so many different stories. I hope this chapter is worth the wait. This is also my first 'song-fic' type thing. Echo finally gets some hope, but how long will it last? You'll just have to stay tuned to find out.**

**I don't own Cyberchase. I don't own the song "Chains on Me". That's from Phineas and Ferb. **

**Read, review, and Enjoy! Love, Kawaii.**

Picking Up the Broken Glass

Kawaii Stella

Chapter Three

A Promise

"Chains on Me"

_I woke up this morning, and the world was gray.  
>Haven't seen the sun since they hauled me away.<br>The boss man says there's no use in trying,  
>He won't let me color outside of the lines.<em>

_Got these chains on me,  
>And they're draggin' me down.<br>Got these chains on me,  
>Hear that clanking sound?<br>Got these chains on me,  
>Mister, hear my song<br>Don't say imagination is morally wrong_

_Mm-hmm  
>Drink of water, boss?<em>

_As long as I've been here I got nothing to show,  
>Try to make something but the boss says no<br>Wanna be creative but the man won't hear it  
>That big boss man, he's trying to crush my spirit<em>

_Got these chains on me,  
>They won't let me fly<br>Got these chains on me,  
>Won't tell me why<br>Got these chains on me  
>Mister, hear my song<br>Don't say imagination is morally wrong_

_No, they won't let us dance or bang that gong,  
>Cause they say imagination is morally wrong.<em>

Echo's song was interrupted by a rapping on the Plexiglas window. She pressed the button to turn off the shade, to find none other than Judge Trudy there.

"Hello," Echo greeted tentatively.

"Hi, Echo. I was wondering if you'd like to get out of here for a while and come help out at the courthouse."

"I'd love to!" Echo said. It would be marvelous to get away from the orphanage.

The judge opened the door and let Echo out. Even though Echo had only been in the cell for a day, it was still nice to taste the fresh air.

"What do you want me to do?" Echo asked.

"Some cleaning and filing for starters."

The work wasn't difficult and Echo enjoyed doing it. She was asked to come back every day, except on Sundays, to do one task or another. Working at the courthouse had its perks too. Every day a restaurant would cater to the courthouse as a civil duty. The work made living at the orphanage more bearable. After a week and a half of work, Echo got her first day off.

All Echo had to do was deliver some paperwork across town. Then she had the day to herself, as long as she was back at the orphanage by dusk. No problem. Echo quickly delivered the paperwork and was on her way to do whatever she pleased. After a small debate with herself, Echo decided to eat lunch a little early.

A hot roast beef and cheese sandwich was better than anything she had ever eaten at the orphanage. The sandwich was so good Echo could have eaten four more, but thought bet of it. It wouldn't do well to make herself look like a pig. After her meal she found her way to the general store. There she purchased three, plain white composition journals, a new set of pencils, a new sketchbook, and two paperback novels off of the dollar rack. After she left the store, Echo made her way to the park, where she put everything, except an eraser, mechanical pencil, and sketchbook into her backpack.

In the park, Echo found a nice, well shaded little pond. The shade trees around the pond were gigantic and undoubtedly ancient. At the bank of pond Echo sat against the trunk of one of the big trees. For several hours she sat there and relaxed; leisurely drawing at her own pace. For the first time in almost a month, Echo's drawings had a cheerful edge to them. Echo sat there for awhile and just drew to her heart's content. Over the course of the afternoon, Echo enjoyed the blissful feeling of the soft summer breeze ruffling her hair and the occasional ray of sun dace across her skin. The sweet breeze even coaxed Echo to take off her button up blouse, which she had earlier rolled up the sleeves on, letting her cotton tank top expose her arms, and their bruises, to the sunny air.

After finishing a sketch of a group of wildflowers, Echo aimlessly doodled on the cover of her new sketchbook10, now already beginning to fill with drawings. Flowers, small tessellations, and her name covered the front cover with black permanent marker. By the time she was done with that, Echo knew she ought to be heading back to the orphanage. It was the last thing she wanted to do, but Echo didn't really have any other choice. Putting everything except her sketchbook into her backpack, Echo walked back to town.

Not even halfway back, Echo got lost in thought, which led to her not paying attention as to where she was going. That led her to walk blindly into another person, knocking the paperwork from his hands. And there was a lot of paperwork.

"I am so sorry!" Echo apologized, immediately starting to pick up the fallen folders.

"It's quite alright, miss," a male cyborg said as he too bent down to pick up his papers.

Echo noticed that he had red glasses and wore a blue jacket.

"Here, let me help you," Echo offered, still embarrassed from her blunder.

"You don't have to do that; I don't have much farther to go." The man said.

"No, it's my fault; I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. It's the least I can do."

"Alright," the man conceded. "My cybercraft isn't very far from here. May I ask your name?"

"I'm Echo," Echo said.

"Well, Echo, thank you for your help. I'm Dr. Marbles."

"It's nothing," Echo said with a smile as she followed Dr. Marbles to his cybercraft.

While they walked Dr. Marbles noticed the shadows around Echo's eye and cheekbone. He at first believed them to be shadows left from the fading daylight. However, the colors weren't right. The edges of the mark were yellow. It didn't take long for Dr. Marbles to realize what the marks were.

"Are you alright?" Dr. Marbles asked as they reached his cyber coupe. "That's a very nasty bruise."

Echo was touched by the concern. Dr. Marbles was the only one who had bothered to ask. However, she didn't want to earn anyone's pity.

"Oh, it's alright. It was an accident." Echo said.

Dr. Marbles could tell Echo was lying and Echo knew it. She gave him the files she had carried before attempting a reassuring smile.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Dr. Marbles. I gotta get going." Echo said before high tailing it back into the main part of Sensible Flats; back to the orphanage.

The bruise across Echo's face bothered Marbles. What bothered him more was how she'd tried to cover it up by saying it was an accident. He stacked the files back in order, finding something that shouldn't be there: a blue notebook. It had Echo's name on it. Marbles flipped open the cover and saw the first of several beautiful drawings all done in pencil. Marbles knew he needed to get this back to Echo. The only problem was that he hadn't a clue as to where she went. In order to find her, he would just have to ask around. The first handful of people hadn't had a clue about who Marbles was asking about. That was when he decided to check at the courthouse. Thankfully, it was just where Marbles needed to go. Judge Trudy, of course, knew exactly who Marbles was looking for. She directed him straight to the orphanage.

_I would've never expected someone like her to end up in here_, Marbles thought to himself as he entered the main lobby of the orphanage. He was greeted a little too warmly by Ms. Truehart.

"Well hello there, Dr. Marbles!" Ms. Truehart greeted. "What brings you here?"

"Hello, Abigail." Dr. Marbles said. Abigail Truehart was not one of his most favorite people. "I came to see Echo."

"Oh," Truehart's expression fell. "She's, uh, in the back. Wouldn't you rather sit and talk a spell?"

"No thank you. If you don't mind, I'd like to return Echo's notebook to her."

Dr. Marbles walked around Ms. Truehart, in the direction she had indicated that Echo would be. He walked down the hall where a door marked 'Solitary' created a barrier. Dr. Marbles entered the door and to his left saw the box of a room Echo was in. She sat on the floor with her back to the Plexiglas window, organizing some stacks of books and supplies. Her over-shirt was gone and her tank top showed all of the other bruises on her arms and shoulders. It was sickening. Dr. Marbles walked up to the window and spoke into the little microphone.

"Hello Echo."

Echo, surprised at seeing Dr. Marbles on the other side of the glass, returned the greeting as she walked to the window.

"Why in the world are you in solitary?" Dr. Marbles asked.

"I'm in here because the others hit me. They think that I'm crazy." Echo said quietly.

"If they attacked you then why aren't they in here instead of you? Did you not strike back?"

"No, I didn't want to get in trouble. No one believes me anyway. Besides, I was outnumbered. They pick on me," Echo came close to crying and looked away. "Because I draw and study. I'm in here so they can't attack me anymore. Why are you here?"

"It is sickening that they don't control the others. I'm here to return this," Dr. Marbles said as he held up the notebook. "You left it in the stack of files you carried. And from what I can tell from this, you are not crazy at all. You have a true and special talent. You don't belong in confinement for your God given talents. We'll get through this."

Marbles put his hand on the glass and Echo pressed her hand against his.

"I promise." Marbles finished.


	4. A Friend

**A/N: Hey guys! Here's chapter four! This chapter is kind of long, I just kept writing. I hope you like this chapter. I think everything will speed up in the coming chapters. Just a warning, the next chapter will start to get a little… intense. And that's all the hints I shall give. Enjoy and drop a review! ~Kawaii Stella**

Picking Up the Broken Glass

Kawaii Stella

Chapter Four

A Friend

"Why are you doing this?" Echo asked, stunned by the sudden explosion of friendship. "You've known me for what, less than an hour?"

"You aren't like the rest; you don't deserve this, Echo." Marbles told her.

Echo didn't know what to say.

Marbles lifted the little window where her meals were normally pushed through and shoved the notebook through.

"I'll be back soon, okay? Oh, and if you get challenged again, fight back." Marbles said with a wink.

"Okay." Echo agreed with a shadow of a laugh.

Dr. Marbles left the orphanage after once again having to avoid the disastrous flirting attempts of Abigail Truehart. He felt bad for leaving Echo in that awful place. His only consolation was that he'd go back as soon as he got the chance.

Echo sat on her bed with her dinner, which had been delivered shortly after Dr. Marbles had left. As she ate she thought about what had just happened.

Somebody cared about her. Well, she worked for the Judge and the judge had seen the bruises, but the judge had only cared enough to give her a job, which was nice enough. The judge had never directly done or said anything about the bruises, though. Dr. Marbles had. She had a friend now, and that made things a little more bearable.

It was back to work the next day, Saturday. The day was unusually slow, but nice nonetheless. Any minute away from the orphanage was nice as far as Echo was concerned. Basic organization and filing took less than two hours. By midmorning Echo was sweeping the porch of the dry dust that had blown in the previous night.

It was overcast today, and a measurable wind foretold a coming rainstorm. Echo took a break after she finished sweeping. She sat out on the porch until the judge called her back inside. Not unusual, the sheriff was there as well.

"Echo, you can do live sketches, right?" Sheriff Judy asked.

"Yes ma'am, I can." Echo answered.

"Great; can we commission you to do a few drawings during a hearing today?" Judy asked.

"Sure, I've never done court sketches before, but I'll do my best."

"Excellent. Thank you, Echo." Judge Trudy remarked. "And here is the defense team now."

In from the street came the three kids and cyboid Echo had seen earlier. She learned that they were Inez, Matt, Jackie, and Digit. Echo didn't have a chance to speak with them. Instead she was directed to the little table containing several canvases and a plethora of supplies. As she got set up, Echo overheard the others saying that they couldn't believe that they were defending their arch nemesis.

_It's a strange world._ Echo thought.

The trial began and Echo got to work. The trial lasted two hours, not including the twenty minutes of deliberation. By the end of the trial Echo ended up with six, not too shabby portraits. Her hands were covered in every color of oil pastels imaginable and there were a few smudges on her face.

"How'd it go, Echo?" The sheriff inquired.

"Oh, just fine," Echo said as she wiped what she could from her hands with an old rag. She spread out the canvases for observation.

"Very nice!" Judge Trudy complimented. "I think someone will have a bonus in her paycheck this week."

"Oh! Thank you very much!" Echo said with a blush.

Before she knew it, Echo's work day was done. She was paid every Monday, so Echo wondered what kind of bonus she would receive. At the orphanage, to Echo's surprise, she was let out of her solitary cell to hear an announcement by Truehart.

In the lobby Truehart spoke to everyone.

"Okay, children, it's that time of year again!"

_What time of year?_ Echo wondered confusedly. _Early summer?_

"The visitor's yard has been groomed to perfection! Of course those of you who are fifteen and older may go outside from the orphanage if you visitor so whishes to take you. For the rest, you all have the visitor's yard to wander around. I have a feeling we may get a few adoptions done this spring and summer!"

A chorus of "Yeah, rights" were mumbled throughout the room. Truehart went on for several minutes about proper etiquette for when they had visitors and the like before all were dismissed. Echo was put back in her room where she decided to do some housekeeping.

Echo's bags were still haphazardly piled in her trunk from when she had first arrived. She went through her things, finding a couple of blankets, one a throw and the other a soft, homemade quilt. She put them on her bed, and then went on with her voyage. In total, she had seven pairs of jeans, one pair of khaki slacks, nine pairs of underwear, three bras, four camisoles in nude, black, grey, and white, three thank tops, eight t-shirts, six long sleeve tops, two hoodies, one sweatshirt, two button up blouses, and four pairs of pajamas. Those were all the clothes that had been sent with Echo. The other things were toiletries like a toothbrush, tube of toothpaste, hair care products, lotions, a few bottles of allergy medicine, aspirin, and other bath items. Then, there was a small selection of books from her massive collection back home. All of Echo's own literary works were accounted for, as well as her eight sketchbooks and her drawing supplies. Whoever had packed for her back home had left a lot of her supplies out. That was all that was in her trunk. As she refolded her clothes and put them in her trunk, Echo noticed the piece of paper taped to the inside lid of the trunk.

The paper was labeled "Inventory in Holding". It was a list of the prohibited items that were being withheld from Echo.

One iPod touch, white, 8GB. One laptop, 16", brown. One cell phone, silver. And a few accessories to the aforementioned items.

Echo put most of her things back up but she did leave out some of her drawings which she taped to the wall above her bed. By the time she was done it was rather late, so Echo showered and went to bed. Everyone was woken up at 7:30 the next morning.

It was Sunday, and it sounded like everyone was on edge. Echo dressed in a teal, light weight sweater with blue jeans and black canvas sneakers. Her breakfast, consisting of the regular slop, was brought to her before she brushed her teeth. After brushing her teeth she sat back on her bed. Echo quickly became bored and began to doodle on a scrap sheet of paper while she thought about what Truehart had said. It didn't take long for Echo to realize what was going on. It was visitor's day.

Echo didn't figure that she'd have a visitor today, but to her surprise, the door to her cell opened.

"Would you like to get out of here for a while?"

"Oh, hello, Dr. Marbles. Yes, I'd love to get out of here for a while." Echo said happy yet surprised that Dr. Marbles was there.

They left the orphanage, returning to the park where Echo had been two days ago. After a bit of miniscule talk about the weather and Marbles insisting to Echo that she needn't be so formal and that she could just call him Marbles, they reached the hilltop where they sat and watched some ducks swim leisurely. Echo remained quiet.

"So, how have you been?" Marbles asked.

"I'm okay. I work six days a week so that keeps me pretty occupied." Echo said quietly.

"Really? Where are you employed?"

"At the courthouse. I do whatever they need me to do. Filing, dusting, the works."

"How long have you been working there?"  
>"Well, I've been here about a month, so, about two weeks."<p>

"You're not been in solitary this whole time, have you?"

"No… I wish I had been put in there from the start though. It would have been better that way. I could've gotten away from…"

"The beatings." Marbles finished softly.

"Yeah."

Echo was quiet for a time. She thought about all of the beatings she had received. Finally she forced herself to clear her mind and then pulled her hair into a bun.

"Do you do okay in your spare time? It can't be easy in there all alone." Marbles asked Echo.

"Yeah, I do fine on my own. I bide my time doing this or that, waiting until I turn eighteen. Nights are the worst."

"You don't expect to be adopted," It wasn't a question; it was more of a statement.

"Nah. It's been proven that the ones closest to being legal age don't get adopted like the little ones do. I can see the point though. Turn 18, get kicked out on your own, find a life and move on. Adopted or not it's pretty much the same."

"It's not always like that." Marbles countered.

"I know it's not, but I see that happening a lot back on Earth, and I doubt it's much different here."

"Why are nights worse for you?" Marbles asked. He hoped he wasn't coming off as being nosy, but he was truly curious about Echo.

"That's when everything comes back to haunt me. Especially trying to figure out why my parents gave me up but kept my half brothers. You know, neither of my parents told me I was being put up for adoption. The council did."

"That's rather odd that your half brothers were allowed to stay."

"Yeah, but they never cared for me. They were all real close to their dad and when he died they all left mom. It took several years for mom to get over him. She met a new guy and then I was born. I was a surprise to my mom. She didn't know she was pregnant until she was six months along. But that's not the point. My brothers don't care much for me so they probably didn't give an effort to let me stay. That's the point."

Echo got mad thinking about her half brothers. She disliked them as much as they disliked her. And as any time she became angry, her accent came through.

"You have an accent," Marbles realized. "Irish?"

"No, Scottish. Have you ever been to Scotland? It's beautiful there. So what do you do?"

"No, I've never been. I'm a computer technician." 

"Oh wow, that's neat."

"Sometimes it is; sometimes it's duller than watching paint dry."

"I know that feeling," Echo chuckled.

They stayed on the hilltop and talked until, like all good things, the day came to an end. Eventually, they had to return to the orphanage.

"Thank you for coming to visit me today." Echo said, standing outside the orphanage door. "It was nice to get out and talk."

"Anytime. I'll see you again soon, Echo."

"'Kay," Echo said before she and Marbles heard Truehart's voice trill from the lobby.

"You better get in before the witch grabs her broom."

Echo laughed but didn't argue. She reluctantly went inside. Unsurprisingly, everyone was glaring at her. Echo slipped back to her safe little cell where she stayed fairly content.

Two more weeks passed much the same. She worked Monday through Saturday and was visited on Sunday's by Marbles. However, on the third Tuesday after Marbles' first visit, she was kept from work. Apparently, she had a new visitor. His name was Solomon Quinn. In an instant Echo did not trust him. She didn't' like the way he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. The real kicker was that she was not to speak of him to other visitors and vice versa. The whole day she wanted to go back to work. Finally the creeper left. To her dismay he visited every few days. Echo simply didn't like the vibe she got from him. Luckily for her, Sundays remained how they should be.

On the Saturday night before he was to tell Echo he'd be away for two weeks, Marbles got a call from his elder brother, Abel. Abel was interested in what his little brother had been up to. He was especially eager to hear how excited Marbles was for the annual family vacation. To Abel's disappointment, Marbles wasn't all that excited.


	5. An Offer Refused

**A/N:Here's chapter five. Sorry it took so long. It actually turned out a lot longer than I thought it would. I like how it turned out though and I hope you like it too. Be sure to drop some feedback for me! ~Kawaii Stella**

Picking Up the Broken Glass

Kawaii Stella

Chapter Five

An Offer Refused

"How can you _not_ be excited?" Abel complained. "It's a whole two weeks away from work and stress and we get to bring our ladies with us." Abel added in a suggestive tone.

At this, Marbles rolled his eyes.

"As much as I'd like to see all of you and get out of this guise, I just don't feel that this is a good time for me to go on holiday."  
>"Having relationship problems with Ada?"<br>"No! Our relationship is just fine."  
>"Aw come on. Don't be so touchy, little brother. I'm you big brother and I'm here for you."<br>"Like you were there when I was in the first grade when you found me hanging from a hook in the janitor's closet by my underwear because a group of fifth graders found me reading Shakespeare?"

"Exactly!" Abel said. "Oh wait…. You're being sarcastic! I got hung by my underwear in that closet with you!"

"That's right. Instead of helping me down you stood there and laughed like an idiot for so long that that same group of fifth graders returned, found you, and hung you up right next to me." Marbles reminded Abel.

"Aside from _that_ time, I've been here for you and I have plenty of romantic advice in the reservoir."

"Says he who keeps chickening out of proposing to his girlfriend."

"Hey! I'll propose to Caterina when the time is right."

"Sure you will…" Marbles said.

"Are you going to tell me why you're not excited for the trip?"

"I just don't feel comfortable leaving certain things unattended."

"I'm sure whatever it is will be fine! Come on now! You can't say a couple weeks on the island don't sound amazing! Dad's been getting his fishing gear ready and you know what that means!"

"Fresh grilled mahi-mahi?"

"Yeah lil bro!"

Abel and Marbles' conversation didn't last much longer, both needed to finish packing for their family's annual vacation.

Marbles knew he should feel at least a little excited for his vacation. It had been a long time since he'd seen his whole family. Plus Ada was tagging along. But now, everything was different. Marbles hated leaving Echo there by herself. Over the past month they had become fairly close friends. Echo, despite being kept away from the other orphans, was still very anxious.

Whether it was fear over another attack from the other orphans or something else, Marbles just didn't know. Echo was normally forthcoming on most things; she would answer almost any inquiry Marbles had for her and talk about any subject. Despite her best efforts she would get a void look in her eyes, and when she did, Marbles would of course ask her what was the matter. That was when Echo would assure him that everything was fine and wouldn't say another word on the matter. Echo always found a way to change the subject. Marbles wouldn't push her to talk, but he worried that something was happening to her. . . Something that should be stopped before it went much too far.

"Well, she's still working at the courthouse six days a week and stays in her room otherwise, so she should be alright for two weeks. . . I hope." Marbles said aloud.

Echo had her days, but she seemed to be healing from the physical and, more prominently, the emotional scarring from the abuse she had been victim to during her first weeks at the orphanage. The beatings were a tough subject for Echo. She would never talk about them in detail and Marbles couldn't blame her. She seemed mostly happy when Marbles visited, though but that didn't account for the other days of the week. On that first day Marbles met Echo, he saw a scared, hurt, young woman. Now, she was beginning to trust again. Well, she trusted Marbles at least and for that he was grateful. Befriending Echo had been one of his smartest decisions.

That was why Marbles was reluctant to leave Echo. He didn't want her to relapse into being that scared little creature. But what could he do? If he completely skipped out on his vacation, his family, and girlfriend for that matter, would not be too happy with him. No one else knew Marbles was friends with Echo. Ada knew that he paid weekly visits to Sensible Flats, but didn't know Echo was the reason he did so. Maybe it was time Marbles introduced Ada to Echo. Marbles thought Ada and Echo would get along well, and perhaps knowing she had another friend would be enough to help Echo get through the next two weeks.

That wasn't a bad idea. And so, Marbles made a quick call to Ada to tell her about Echo and his plan to introduce the two. Ada agreed to meet Echo and thought it was very sweet of her beau to befriend the girl. Ada would meet Marbles at the orphanage tomorrow afternoon to meet Echo. Then the couple would leave for their vacation.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Like most mornings, Echo got up bright and early. It wasn't like she slept much anyway. Most nights she got the bare minimum amount of six hours of sleep, other nights less than that. It wasn't that Echo didn't want the sleep, she did. She wanted her work hours back even more. It was three weeks ago when she began to lose sleep. It was the first time Solomon Quinn paid her a visit.

Why Mr. Quinn chose her to see was beyond Echo's reach. Mr. Quinn was an executive officer of a big business. He liked, rather, he _loved_ to brag about his perfect trophy wife. He constantly pushed pictures of his wife into Echo's face.

In Echo's opinion, trophy wife was a good description. In over half of the pictures the woman was spray tanned an odd shade which did not contrast well with the bleach blonde hair, making her look like a trophy. Echo would bet half of her full time wage that those "perfect, au natural" shapes were indeed fake. A woman her size just did not have breasts that big; not in nature. The guy had a really messed up vocabulary full of completely mangled made up words. Solomon Quinn claimed that every part of his life was perfect. That was why Echo thought it was weird that he visited her. If he wanted someone like him, uppity and "perfect", why didn't he visit with Samantha and her clique? Echo didn't like Quinn anyway. He was far too touchy. He had tried to make a pass at her every time he visited, which was every Tuesday and Thursday, and he had only visited on two Saturdays of the three weeks he had been coming to the orphanage.

Echo missed working every day at the courthouse. She had been putting back most of her pay for when she turned eighteen and could start anew. Her pay hadn't been bad, but was now it was dwindling because every time Mr. Quinn came to visit, Echo had to miss work. Echo wished she could just tell Quinn to back off and stop coming. She worried his passes would start advancing to an even more uncomfortable level. It made Truehart's golden rule of no talking about her visitors to other visitors torturous. Solomon Quinn's actions upset Echo. They haunted her, which deprived her of sleep. She only had one person to talk to and she couldn't even tell him what was going on.

Nevertheless, Echo was happy it was Sunday because that meant Dr. Marbles would be coming to visit her today.

It was still too early for breakfast so Echo decided to go ahead and dress for the day. Dark blue jeans, a green long sleeved shirt, and her black converse shoes made up her outfit for today. Most of her bruises were gone now, but Echo still couldn't bring herself to wear shorter sleeved shirts. She brushed out her red hair slowly, just to bide time. Echo watched the bristles glide through the waves of her hair, realizing how long her hair had gotten. Her hair fell to the bottom of her shoulder blades and would be even longer if straightened. Four months ago Echo had had bangs that were nonexistent now they were so long. The sound of the Plexiglas window sliding open alerted Echo that her breakfast was here.

Echo swallowed down the tasteless mush then brushed her teeth to get the taste of something. Mint flavored toothpaste tasted way better than some sort of mush that tasted like paper. Once finished with brushing her teeth, Echo proceeded to sit on her bed, only to be herded out into the visitor's yard.

The visitor's yard was nice. It was big. It even had a good sized stream with a wooden bridge over it. The visitor's yard was one thousand times better than the back yard the kids got to mull around in on every other day. The visitor's yard had soft grass and massive trees. Echo wasn't sure why she had been put out here today. Usually she was left in her room until Marbles came. It was still early for visitor's to come, so Echo walked around the perimeter of the yard. When she walked by the alley caused by a small gap between a gardener's shed and the main building, Echo was harshly yanked into that alley. A hand clamped over her mouth.

"Mmnph!" was what Echo's muffled yelp sounded like.

She was pushed against the wooded wall of the shed and held there. As she was held against that wall, Echo saw it was Ledge who held her there.

"You'll do well not to scream." Ledge threatened.

When Echo didn't scream Ledge removed his hand from her mouth. He used that hand to create a firm grasp around Echo's throat.

"Listen up, Echo. I can make your life here less miserable. I'm going to control Cyberspace one day and when I do I'll need a queen. If you agree to be my queen now, I can save you from any future torture. How about it, sugar?" As Ledge said this he slid his hands down Echo's sides.

Echo did not take that well. One quote flashed in her mind.

"If you get challenged again, fight back."

That's exactly what Echo did. She punched Ledge in the gut then smacked him across the face. While he was down Echo ran away, clear to the other side of the yard. There she climbed up into one of the trees and stayed there.

~Meanwhile~

"What is her deal, Marbles?" Ada asked as they headed out the back double doors into the visitor's yard.

"Abigail has always been like that. Every time I come around she attempts to flirt to get my attention. It's been like that since we first met when she moved to Sensible Flats. I was doing some work and I caught her fancy. But be assured I have no interest in her. I have the best girlfriend in the universe."

Ada giggled at Marbles' compliment but soon fell silent.

"Why are all of these kids staring at us?" Ada whispered.

"They know who we're here to see . . . but I don't see her."

"Who's that up in that tree?" asked Ada, seeing a small, curled up being hidden by leaves and a curtain of red hair.

Marbles smiled and walked to the tree, looking up into the branches.

"Do you plan to stay in that tree all day, Echo?" Marbles called.

Echo lifted her head up, saw Marbles, and smiled.

"Oh! Hi!" Echo said as she jumped down onto the ground. She noticed Ada and asked, "Who's this?"

"Echo I want to introduce you to my girlfriend, Ada. Ada, this is Echo."

"Hi, it's very nice to meet you, Ada." Echo said.

"Likewise," Ada said. "Marbles says you work at the courthouse?"

"Yeah, I do," Echo said before she muttered. "I wish I still had all my hours."

At this Marbles raised an eyebrow. Ada sensed that Marbles wanted to speak with Echo so she excused herself.

"I need to go pick up a few things before we go. I'll leave you two here to chat. Nice to meet you, Echo." Ada said before walking away.

When Ada had left Echo said,

"You've got a nice girlfriend. So you're going somewhere?"

"Yes, she is. And yes, my two week vacation starts tomorrow. That's not the point though. What is this about you losing hours at the courthouse?"

"I've not had as many hours lately. It's not a big deal."

"How many days are you working now?"

"About three… but its fine; like I said, it's not a big deal."

"How long has this been going on, Echo?"

"Just a few weeks."

"This is what's been bothering you, isn't it?" Marbles asked.

"Sort of…." Echo admitted.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I can't." Echo said tersely.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset."

"It's okay… I just don't want to talk about it. So where are you going for your vacation?"

"The tropics. It's kind of like a vacation and family reunion rolled into one."

"That sounds really fun."

"Yeah, it will be interesting to say the least." Marbles laughed.

Like every other Sunday, Marbles and Echo passed the time with conversation. Echo asked about Ada. About how long they'd been together, what they liked to do together, etc.. Before they knew it, it was time for them to part ways.

"I guess I should go find Ada… I'll see you in two weeks, alright?"

"Okay, see you then. Have fun on your vacation!"  
>Marbles was about to leave when Echo stopped him by saying,<p>

"Oh yeah, I about forgot to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"I fought back today."

"Good for you Echo. Good for you." Marbles said and smiled.

Dr. Marbles then did leave for his vacation. As he and Ada were en route to his family's private island, Marbles couldn't help but think that Echo would do fine while he was away.

He couldn't have been more wrong.


	6. Welcome to Hell

**A/N: Alright, here's chapter six. I decided to cut it a little short so I could keep plenty of detail in the scenes without the plot seeming like it will drag on forever. I want to keep things flowing smoothly. Chapter seven will hopefully be here in the next day or so and it too will probably be fairly short. Next chapter the Cybersquad will finally make their full fledged debut here. Now for the warnings…**

**WARNING: This chapter contains violence and abuse (I know the earlier chapters had this but since I'm doing this warning I thought I'd include it) and Suggestive themes. Seriously it's only one line but I just thought I'd warn you for those who are faint of heart.**

**Ok then. Enjoy the chapter and drop me some feedback and you can also find me on deviantART. Thanks for all of the support!**

Picking Up the Broken Glass

Kawaii Stella

Chapter Six

Welcome to Hell

Echo was sad to see Dr. Marbles leave. He was her closest friend after all. But Echo knew he had his own life to live and she hoped he had a good vacation with Ada and his family.

What had happened earlier, before Marbles had arrived, still shook Echo to her core. Echo had been right in her hunch that Ledge was evil. Why did Ledge want Echo to be his queen? From the way he had trailed his hands down her sides, Echo surmised that Ledge thought she was a weak and easy target that would succumb to his demands; i.e. he thought that Echo would be the one to "give him some".

Well, Echo had news for Ledge. Echo was not, nor would ever be, a sleep around gal.

With Marbles gone, Echo had no reason to stay in the visitor's yard. She quickly returned to her room. As she entered her little cell she found a folded slip of paper on the little table divided by the Plexiglas. Echo unfolded the slip of paper and gulped as she read it.

"He's gone now. You've got no one to turn to. You think you're safe but you're not. Nor will you ever be. I could have protected you, Echo, but you turned me down. You will rue the day you rejected my help. You could have had it made as my queen but no. You thought your life was miserable before? Well, welcome to hell, sweetheart. -Ledge"

Echo began to tremble and sat on her bed. Now what was she going to do? What Ledge had said in the note was correct. With Marbles gone, Echo had no one to turn to, not for the next two weeks anyway. She would just have to lookout for herself the best she could. Echo was grateful that she had work the next day. That, at least, would provide her with solace for the next several hours.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

As dawn rose as did Echo. Her Monday constant was that she worked. No visitors came. She worked as she had been for a month now. She didn't have to fear Solomon Quinn or Ledge while she was at work though the haunting thoughts of what they would, could, do to her lingered in her mind. Echo dusted, filed, and polished the wooden furniture as the day progressed. She liked the smell of the polish she was given to use. It had a pleasant lemony scent to it. Near the end of the day, a local, Deke, came into the courthouse to speak with the sheriff.

"What brings you here all the way from the lake, Deke?" Sheriff Judy asked.

"There's something fishy goin' on in the ol' abandoned sewage lines!" Deke explained.

"What do you mean?" asked Judy. Deke now had the attention of all the occupants in the room: Judy, Trudy, and Echo.

"There have been some suspicious lookin' folks goin in there. Carryin' strange boxes and cases and the peoples were all wearin' long white lab coats like they were doctors or somethin'." Deke explained.

"That's very strange. Going into the sewage lines is strictly prohibited." Trudy said.

"That's what I'm tryin' to say!" said Deke.

"There will need to be an investigation into the matter," sighed Judy. "We'll have to call in reinforcements. Our force here is too small to send out investigators. Our best bet would be to ask Motherboard to send in the Cybersquad. But Echo,"

"Yes ma'am?"

"I want you to be the one to lead the investigation, alright?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Then it's settled. The investigation will get going first thing tomorrow morning. We'll write up the warrants now." Trudy said.

"Since ya'll have this here under control now, I'm gonna go play to the fishes. Have a good afternoon now." Deke said, taking his leave.

"Playing to the fishes?" Echo asked confusedly.

"Yes, most of the time Deke will sit in his row boat and play his banjo. The bizarre thing is that when Deke plays, the fish dance." Trudy explained.

"Wow! I've never heard of something like that happening before." Echo said, surprised.

"Maybe you'll get to see it one day. For now, we'll get your warrant delivered to the orphanage first thing tomorrow morning." Trudy continued.

"Why do I need a warrant?" Echo asked.

"Just so you can get out of any visits so you'll for sure be in for the investigation."

"Oh, alright," Echo said happily. She would not have to deal with Solomon Quinn tomorrow. The clock then chimed four.

"Head back and get some rest, Echo," Trudy said. "You need to be in top shape for tomorrow."

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow morning, then."

Echo made her way back to the orphanage and was a little eager for the next day. She didn't have to fear a horrendous visit from Solomon. She would actually get to work. As quietly as she could Echo slipped into the orphanage and into her room. No sooner than Echo had shut the door and settled on her bed the door was slammed open again.

"You cannot be in here!" Ms. Truehart all but screamed.

"Wha-?" was all Echo could say as she was roughly pulled off of the bed.

"I just had this room sprayed for bugs! You can not be in here until after dinner is done. Now get out there and sit somewhere until dinner is served in the cafeteria." With that, Ms. Truehart stalked off leaving Echo alone.

Echo had no wish to go and stay in the lobby. So she simply sat in the small area outside of her room. She figured she'd wait for everyone to get called to dinner and then go to the cafeteria. Echo figured that no one would confront her. Echo rested her head atop her knees, closing her eyes to the world around her. She almost drifted off to sleep until she had a rude awakening. A foot collided forcefully with her ribcage, sending Echo reeling.

Echo looked up, seeing Ledge and his goons leering down at her. Even more to Echo's surprise was that Samantha, Emma, Alice, and Dior were with them.

"Hey there, little bitch," Alice said viciously.

"We are going to have so much fun with you." One of Ledge's goons grinned. "They say going at a punching bag is a good stress reliever."

"And we have loads of stress," Dior chimed.

"Ladies first," said Ledge. "I'll go last."

Echo tried to back away but the four vicious teen girls pounced like a pack of wild hungry panthers. It was like Echo's first night at the orphanage all over again. Echo did not know how long she was beaten for, but eventually the girls stalked off to another part of the orphanage and the goons took their place. They beat on Echo until they too tired. By the time they left, Echo was sobbing and was practically immobilized by pain.

"I'll give you one more chance," Ledge hissed, kneeling besides Echo who lay on her back. "Be my queen, and you'll never have to suffer this again."

"Go to hell, Ledge." Echo spat through her tears, a list of other expletives going through her mind.

Ledge did not take that well at all. With all his might he stomped his foot (the same foot he had earlier kicked into her ribcage) into Echo's gut. Echo yelped and gurgled in pain before curling up on her side, a fresh wave of tears cascading down her cheeks. Ledge knelt besides Echo again.

"I gave you your chance. Not once, but twice! Both times you turned me down foolishly. Now you're paying for your mistakes. I hope you're enjoying your stay in hell, baby. You don't know what you're missing from yours truly."

Ledge then forced his hand between Echo's legs and gave a squeeze. Before Echo could even attempt to retaliate, Ledge, and his hand, was gone. Again she was alone, beaten, scared and had no one to turn to. It took almost twenty minutes for Echo to be able to sit upright. What was sore now would be even more excruciating the next day. Just as Echo was sitting upright, everyone was called to dinner. Echo made her way to the cafeteria where she ate under the excruciating watch of everyone there. As she left the cafeteria, more than ready to return to her little cell, she swore she saw a smug grin on Ms. Truehart's face.

Inside her little cell Echo shut the door, locked it, and darkened the Plexiglas window. She went into her bathroom to survey the damage. It wasn't pretty. Worse than the bruises she had gotten when she'd first arrived. Looking at her reflection, Echo felt her soul, a thing as fragile as glass, crack and fracture to a new extreme. Echo showered and crawled into her bed. Her world faded into blackness, a blackness haunted by her worst fears.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Six a.m. That was the time that Echo's warrant was delivered to Abigail Truehart. Said woman, displeased about being woken early, burst into Echo's room. The sound of the door being slammed open jolted Echo from her slumber and the sight of the southern belle in a neon green face mask, hair curlers, and bathrobe sent her into alertness.

"Take your summons and get out of here!" Truehart hissed, throwing the paper at Echo and leaving with the door slamming shut behind her.

Echo quickly dressed in her standard jeans and long sleeved shirt, pulling her hair into a loose bun at the nape of her neck. With the promise of breakfast at the courthouse, Echo made her way out of the orphanage without delay. She had an investigation to conduct today.


	7. The Investigation

**A/N: Here's chapter seven. I first thought that the hospital scene would be in this, but it deserves a chapter of its own. I'm pretty happy with how this chapter turned out. I'm going to leave it at that and I'll see you at the next chapter. Oh and remember, Echo hates it when she is mistaken for being Irish. She's Scottish. You'll see why I brought it up. So leave some feedback and I'll catch you all later! ~Kawaii Stella.**

**I don't own Cyberchase.**

Picking Up the Broken Glass

Kawaii Stella

Chapter Seven

The Investigation

The breakfast served at the courthouse was filling and gave Echo the energy she would need to take lead of this sewage line investigation. As soon as she was finished eating, Echo read through the information Judge Trudy had on the sewage lines.

The now abandoned sewage lines were once the pinnacle of plumbing in Sensible Flats. When the town was young they needed plumbing to serve the then much smaller main town. That was why these lines were built. However, as they grew older and the town got bigger, the sewage pipe lines had to be replaced. Thus they were replaced with newer, more efficient pipelines. The majority of the old pipes had been removed and recycled to be used in other things. The only part of the original system remaining were the piping leading to the old abandoned waste treatment plant at the base of the mountain, near the lake where Deke made his home.

According to a large piece of ragged edged paper, an old sheet of blueprints as it was, the waste treatment plant was a small building-one room-on the surface. But below the surface, there was a miniature labyrinth of rooms and pipes. No doubt it would be easy to hide and do all sorts of stuff down there.

"Echo," Sheriff Judy said, snapping Echo from her thought induced daze.

"Yes?"

"Here, take this jumpsuit and put it on. Here are some rain boots as well. There's no telling what may be down there in that sewer."

"Okay," Echo agreed then began to slip on the pale purple jumpsuit over her normal clothes. She zipped up the suit then traded her converse for the thick rubber rain boots. The boots were a tad big on Echo, but that's what happened when your feet could still fit into shoes meant for girls half your age.

Just as Echo finished dressing, the courthouse door opened and the Cybersquad entered. To Echo's surprise, the Cybersquad was none other than the three kids and cyboid that had defended their arch nemesis not so long, maybe a month, ago in court.

"Hey, Sheriff Judy; what's the problem?" The boy, whose name Echo remembered as being Matt, said as he made his way to the front of the courtroom.

"We've been having reports of suspicious people being in the old abandoned sewage lines and going into those lines is forbidden." Judy explained.

"Sewage!? Ew, ew, and triple ew!" The girl in yellow, Jackie, blanched at the thought of the filthy sewage lines.

"Is it Hacker sneaking down there?" The other girl, Inez, pondered.

Echo was glad she was remembering these kids' names.

"No, Hacker's not been around." Judy informed them. "He's not been around since the trial."

"Then who could it be?" Digit asked.

"Reports say the intruders looked like doctors in white lab coats," said the sheriff to the group. "I want you to help investigate for us. Echo will lead you in the investigation."

Echo took this as her cue to step forward and introduce herself. She shook hands with the kids and Digit and said hello before Judge Trudy came in with jumpsuits and boots for the others. With everyone now in proper attire, the investigation team set off for the waste treatment plant at the base of the mountain. The little building was run down with one broken out window which had been sloppily boarded over while the other window had been invaded by gangly vines. The vines twisted their way up the bricks and onto the tin roof.

"Boy, this place sure is creepy!" Digit gulped.

"Well, it has been abandoned for over thirty years with no one to tend to it." Echo informed him.

"Yikes! Maybe the place is haunted!" The cyboid trembled as he spoke those words.

"I don't recall restless spirits being able to carry strange boxes." Echo told Digit.

"These people were carrying boxes?" inquired Inez.

"According to reports, yes," confirmed Echo. "Well, time's a wasting. Let's catch our culprits. Let's get this door open."

To the surprise of no one really, the old door wouldn't budge. The knob on the warped panel of wood turned completely as it should, however the door would not grant entrance to anyone. Everyone pushed at the stubborn door but whatever was on the other side did _not _want them in. Despite her whole body aching from the masses of bruises accumulated over her muscles and bones, Echo gave a swift kick to the door as a last ditch attempt to open it.

"It's not going to budge," said Echo as she stated the obvious.

"Now what?" asked Matt.

"We go through the underground." When met with some slightly confused looks, Echo explained further. "I studied up on the blueprints to this place. There is another way in. There's a large pipe that leads into the underground plant. Not too far into that pipe there should be a hatch that goes into the building's basement. We can get in like that."

"We have to go into the sewage pipes!?" Jackie whined.

"Why'd you think we were given the rubber boots?" Matt asked her.

Echo led the way into the woods, towards their entrance. As they waded through the dense brush, Digit kept his eyes on Echo, trying to place where he'd talked to her before.

Finally they all reached the open pipe and went in.

"It's dark and wet and cramped and disgusting in here!" cried Jackie.

"It's just rain water," Echo tried to soothe. "These pipes haven't been used for decades."

"This place is still creepy though…" Inez said quietly.

"Yeah, creepy enough for Pennywise the clown to pop out and slaughter us all." Matt chimed in.

"Oh Lord!" Echo shivered as several chills ran down her spine. "I _hate_ clowns! Especially Pennywise!"

Everybody quieted again as they continued down the pipe. The only sounds were the occasional sloshes of water and the team's echoing metallic footsteps until Digit spoke up.

"Echo?" Digit called.

"Hm? What is it?" Echo kept on with her eyes forward, looking for the hatch.

"You were there when we had to defend Hacker, right?"

"Yeah, I was working that day."

"I know I saw you there but I keep feeling I met you before that."

"You did. You pulled my drawing out of that tree. Oh, it's been some time ago."

"That's it! I knew I had met you before."

"Yep…. Ah, here it is!" Echo found the hatch and pulled it open. When the hatch opened, a small ladder slid down. Echo made sure everyone else made it up alright before climbing up herself.

Past the hatch door was the concrete basement of the waste treatment plant. Immediately voices were heard. Echo looked at the Cybersquad and pressed a finger to her lips, a well understood signal to remain silent. Carefully they peeked around a corner and saw six men, all wearing pure white lab coats. From what was seen, each of the six men wore the same black pants, shoes, and red trimmed black shirts beneath their lab coats. This was a clear indicator that they all worked in the same organization. Echo pulled the kids back away from the corner.

"We have to get them out of here." Echo said seriously. "No matter where they go, they'll end up in the same place when they run; they'll go into one pipe that splits into two pipes that will merge again into one pipe as it exits out onto land."

"Awesome! So, what do we do?" Matt asked.

"I need all of you to hurry out the way we came in and head to the pipe on the opposite side of the plant. That way you can round these guys up as I flush them all out."

"One problem," Inez fretted. "How will you know when we're ready?"

"Good point," Echo conceded.

"We all have our Squakpads, so why don't we use them?" Matt suggested.

"Great idea Matt! One of use could stay at the entrance of this pipe while the rest of us go to the other side. Then once we're ready, we'll radio back then send out some sort of signal to tell you everybody's in position." Jackie was quite proud of her elaboration of Matt's suggestion.

"Brilliant thinking you guys!" Echo complimented.

It was then decided that Inez would stay at the entrance of the pipe and blow a whistle once Digit, Matt and Jackie were on the other side. The Cybersquad hastily made their way down the hatch and out the pipe, leaving Echo to decide how she was going to get these guys out of the basement and into the pipelines.

Echo instinctively reached to her right thigh and a pout formed on her lips when her hand didn't find what it was searching for.

"I wish I had my Artemis," Echo muttered to herself.

Echo quickly surveyed her surroundings. Leaning against the wall behind her was a five and a half foot metal rod. That would do the trick. Then the whistle was blown. Showtime. Echo rolled her stiff shoulders before making her move.

"Hey!" Echo yelled at four of the men, startling them. "Being down here is strictly forbidden. I have been authorized by the authorities of Sensible Flats to use any force necessary to remove you from this location."

"Oh, look guys," one researcher ridiculed. "This little runt thinks she can force us to leave. What can you do? Summon a leprechaun and do a jig?"

Echo's fist clenched around the solid metal rod. A malicious grin grew across her face.

"Really? You doubt my words? Do you really want to see just what I am capable of doing to you?" Echo's voice had grown dark, her eyes crazed. To enforce her point she slapped the tip of the rod into the concrete wall. The force of the blow caused the concrete to crack.

The smug grins which had once possessed the faces of the researchers were gone, vanished into thin air. Their complexions were pallid, worse than that of a corpse. Against their intentions, the researchers began to tremble. Echo began to twirl the staff. Not wanting to see what Echo could, or would do next, the four researchers ran. A fifth researcher walked out of a different room, only to be dragged away by his colleagues.

As the five researchers ran straight into the pipe leading to the awaiting Cybersquad, Echo saw her reflection in the men's terrified expressions.

The metal rod clanked as it hit the floor. Echo's eyes darkened and the malicious grin turned into a grimace. She refused to be _that_ monster again. Echo would not succumb to her former self.

Five researchers had fled the waste treatment plant. That meant one researcher still remained. There were still a few rooms left unsearched. Echo thoroughly searched each room, and as she was in the next to last room, she heard fleeting footsteps. Echo followed the sounds of the footsteps until a starched white lab coat came into view. The last researcher revealed at last.

"Where do you think you're going?"

The researcher spun around surprised to see Echo just two feet behind him. The researcher's arms were overfilled with test tubes and Petri dishes he was trying to smuggle out. Three Petri dishes fell to the ground and shattered, releasing an almost microscopic amount of translucent gas. Gas that Echo breathed in.

Echo began to cough, attempting to rid her respiratory system of the foreign gases. The researcher took this chance to flee, running into the sewage pipe, straight for the Cybersquad. With her job done, Echo exited the sewage system. She, along with the Cybersquad, went back to the courthouse to retrieve their shoes and turn over their six suspects. By the time they reached the courthouse Echo wasn't feeling so well, and by the time she returned to the orphanage steps, she felt downright awful.

Echo made her way to her room but was stopped short by Ledge again.

"Hey sweetheart, where have you been today?"

"None of your business, Ledge. Now let me by."

Ledge did not budge which irritated Echo. She shoved him out her the way which earned her a backhand across the face. It wasn't until after she had received her slap to the face that Echo was allowed into her room.

That night Echo did not eat much. She felt too ill to eat. In the middle of the night Echo woke in a cold sweat, her whole body aching worse that any beating she'd received here. She stumbled her way into her bathroom and fell to her knees in front of the toilet. Just in time for her to vomit up a fountain of blood.

What Echo had breathed in down in the sewer had been very, very bad.


	8. GUILT Act I

_**Listen Up, Everyone! I have an important announcement to make! I don't know if you've heard or not, but I've partnered up with Tari J. Deiter. I'm sure you all know how amazing her "Evil Within Saga" is. Her final installment to the saga, "Cyberchase: A Shield-maiden's Strife" is now a collaboration with "Picking Up the Broken Glass". So, you should go read it. You can find it under Cyberchase Crossovers, in the Huntik: Secrets & Seekers section. If you've not read the first three in the saga yet I recommend you do so before diving into the gripping conclusion. **_

**Ok, now to the regularly scheduled author's note.**

**A/N: So, here's chapter eight! THIS IS NOT FOR THE SUPER SQUEEMISH. This is an operating scene. Wade in at your own risk. I personally don't think it's too bad but I'm the one who wrote it. I changed McGaherty's name from Harris to Perth, which means "thorn bush". I needed the name Harris for a future book in the series. I think one of you might get why. There is a lot going on in here so PLEASE FOLLOW THE LEDGEND BELOW! It will help you. I hope this doesn't get too confusing. But if I figured it out I think you will too.**

**LEDGEND:**

Plain Text: Story in plain text is what's happening in reality.

_Italicized Text: What Echo is seeing in her subconscious. _

**Bold Text: Echo's thoughts. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cyberchase. I DO own Echo and her family. I don't own Trauma Center (Dr. Kasal, Dr. Clarks, Nurse Mary Fulton, GUILT, Caduceus USA, Europe, Japan, and its technologies), Atlus does. **

**P.S: There is a nod to history in here! Can you find it? Hint: Two separate people, one character. The answer will be revealed in the next chapter. Okay, On with the show!**

Picking Up the Broken Glass

Kawaii Stella

Chapter Eight

GUILT

Act I

Kyriaki and Paraskevi

All through the night Echo convulsed as she heaved into the ceramic bowl. The water which was once clear was now crimson. Echo's nose and throat burned from the acidic vile she was retching up. She did not know for how long she vomited for, but eventually she collapsed to the floor, immobilized by pain. Unable to move, Echo stared at the ceiling, drifting to and from conscious.

Eventually the sun began to rise. A kitchen aid came to deliver Echo's breakfast as she did every morning. The aid was confused as to why Echo was not coming to the window to retrieve her meal. The girl had always pulled her meal through the window as soon as it came. Tentatively the aid rapped her knuckles against the Plexiglas. Then again, louder. When no response came, the aid left to retrieve Ms. Truehart.

Truehart unlocked Echo's cell, irritated that her least favorite orphan was causing her to lose precious time she had slated for other things. A scowl formed on Truehart face when Echo was not in her bed. The bathroom light was on, so that was where the caretaker trudged.

"Hell fire! Damn it all!" Abigail Truehart growled.

On the floor lay Echo, surrounded by splatters of her bloody bile. Echo lay limp; her chest heaving with each difficult breath which exited her mouth which was wide open. Each breath came and went with a pathetic wheeze. Echo's green eyes were unfocused and glazed over, only seeing blurs of color. Truehart paled at the blood filled toilet then directed her attention to the girl on the floor. Truehart frowned and nudged Echo with her foot. Echo let out a gurgled moan and her head lolled to the side.

"Well shit."

**Am I dead? No, death is supposed to be painless. What I feel, - it is excruciating beyond measure. What is this blur of color above me and why does it not help me? I tried to blink – to make the fuzzies in my eyes go away- but now I can't reopen them. What is this now? What is this grey fog swirling towards me? It… it is consuming me…! **

The paramedics came quickly to the Sensible Flats Orphanage. Abigail tried to flirt with the two male paramedics, desperately trying to earn their attention; rather unsuccessfully. The paramedics checked Echo's vitals, finding her highly unresponsive. A thick foam brace was wrapped around Echo's neck before she was strapped to a rolling gurney. While Echo was being loaded into the ambulance, one EMT radioed ahead to New Hope Hospital, the only hospital in Cyberspace that dealt with humans, to alert the doctors to Echo's condition and their estimated time of arrival.

~New Hope Hospital, Cyberspace~

It had been an extremely tough road bringing New Hope Hospital into existence. At its conception, New Hope hadn't been New Hope. It had been Caduceus Cyberspace. Caduceus Cyberspace was the brainchild of several doctors who wished to help the small percentage of humans who resided in Cyberspace.

The medical advancements in Cyberspace were remarkable. Almost anything could be treated and fixed without much worry. Well, if you were a cyborg, anyway. For the humans, the medical help was practically nonexistent. To be diagnosed with the flu or have a broken bone mended required the people to portal out of Cyberspace to their own hospitals. This meant the odds of surviving a stroke or other serious ailments were severely depleted. This was where the dreams of that group of doctors came in.

They wanted to build a hospital- one more advanced than most. The Cyberspacian humans needed something more than a general hospital. What was needed was a top of the line facility that could not only handle the common ailments but successfully combat the more complex ones as well. The doctors knew that there also needed to be a research facility. Cyberspace was a new, unknown frontier to humans. No one knew if there were unknown viruses to affect the humans lurking in the depths of Cyberspace. If one should appear, it would need to be researched in order to find a treatment and hopefully a cure.

With the doctors knowing exactly what they wanted in their new hospital, they appealed to Motherboard. Motherboard heartily agreed that there needed to be a hospital for the humans. She gave the doctors her approval and blessing for the project. Now they needed to partners to receive the final push to get this hospital built.

In order to make this hospital a top notch sanctuary of medical treatment and research, the doctors needed to join a network of similar hospitals. The top choice was the Caduceus system of hospitals. On Earth Caduceus was the premier line of hospitals on the frontline of modern medicine. There were three international branches and these wishful doctors hoped to make Cyberspace the home of the fourth branch and the only interdimensional branch.

The lead boards from each branch gathered to hear this plea of the four doctors. The doctors presented their plan and objectives as well as their visual aids; drawings and blueprints of the new building. The three boards conferred in private, deciding the fate of this dream.

The American branch was very supporting of this plan. They agreed thoroughly with the idea of increasing the medical care for Cyberspace. The doctors on the American board believed there should never be an incurable disease and that having another branch in a totally new area could help that goal. Caduceus USA put their full support behind the plan for a new branch. Caduceus Europe was a completely different story. Their opinion was that there were not enough humans in Cyberspace to merit a hospital at the Caduceus level. It would be a waste of funding. Lastly came the opinion of the board representing Caduceus Japan. They were split of the matter.

What did this boil down to? There would be no Caduceus Cyberspace. This disappointed our team of doctors but did not drive them to give up. They just had to scale back. And finally, thanks to the support and partnerships of three other hospitals, including Caduceus USA, New Hope Hospital was completed.

New Hope Hospital was slightly more advanced than a general hospital, but it served its purpose well. Above the main desk were plaques with the faces and names of the four founders: Dr. Stephen Clarks, Dr. Alexi Rasputin, Dr. Ari Wolfe, and Dr. Sartorius Shovat. These four doctors were responsible for the smooth operation of the hospital. For general purposes, Dr. Rasputin was placed as Director though he collaborated with his three friends and colleagues for larger matters. The other three paid frequent visits to New Hope to check its progress. Dr. Clarks stayed at Caduceus USA as a senior surgeon and supervisor of their partnership with New Hope, making sure the funding and support was given as necessary. Dr. Wolfe coordinated New Hope's researchers and collaborated with other researchers while Dr. Shovat had a country to look after.

New Hope was so well working now, even at just seven months old, it participated in the Doctors' Advancement Program. The Doctors' Advancement Program, or DAP, was where doctors from different hospitals traded places to gain more experience and knowledge. That program was what brought Dr. Greg Kasal to New Hope hospital.

"Dr. Kasal! We just received a radio report that a critical patient is in transport here as we speak. Patient files are being faxed in now." Nurse Mary Fulton, senior nurse of New Hope, relayed this information urgently.

Dr. Kasal nodded sagely, his features serious. "Gather the rest of the surgical staff, Mary. Sounds like we've got a challenge on our hands."

Mary nodded and quickly scurried off to gather the surgical staff per Dr. Kasal's orders. Minutes later the team, including Director Rasputin, were gathered in the pre-op conference room.

"The patient is a seventeen year old female, her case history is unknown. Reports from the EMTs stated the patient had vomited a large amount of blood prior to their arrival. She is in critical condition and very unresponsive. From the check-up she received in the ambulance she mostly responds to pain, which they discovered radiates from her intestines and chest. Scans and tests came back inconclusive. We have to be prepared for anything, including the worst." Dr. Kasal said. "She's being prepped now."

"Greg. Before you start this operation, perhaps we should call in Sartorius. He might know something about this. I mean, he has been to more places than the both of us combined." interjected Director Rasputin.

"It's possible, but he's on vacation in the tropics. We don't have the time to wait for him to get here. If we don't operate now we'll lose the patient! Call Dr. Shovat to put him on standby if you wish, but I'll be damned if I don't do everything I can for this patient. If you'll excuse me, Alexi, I have to get this operation underway."

With that Greg Kasal ordered for Echo to be moved to the operating room and be put under anesthesia.

**I don't like this fog. I can't out run it. I have to open my eyes!**

Echo did open her eyes. Just in time to see a hazy object come at her face and send her straight back to her subconscious.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

_The fog was still there, waiting for her. When Echo saw the fog swirling tyrannically in wait her eyes widened. She didn't want to go back to the pain waiting for her back in reality, but Echo had a feeling that the pain would be more favorable that what the fog had in store. The fog leapt at Echo. It wrapped her in a firm grasp like a cobra. It held her legs together and her arms at her sides. The fog held her in the air as a wisp of the grey fog clamped itself over Echo's mouth, muting any verbal protests. Everything around Echo went black before a change of scenery occurred in front of her eyes._

_ The scene in from of her was a tiny living room. A little baby girl sat in a play pen, intently trying to figure out why there were little fishies in her squishy ring. Three little boys, meaner than snot, approached the playpen._

**These are my memories… from when I was little…**

_Two of the boys looked at each other and nodded. The oldest, age seven, got down on his hands and knees while the next youngest, age six, stepped atop of his older brother and crawled into the pen. The baby girl, not even a year old, looked up at the boy._

_ "What'cha got there?" the boy asked._

_ Instinctively the wee babe held the ring tightly to her chest. She was still no match for his strength. The six year old tossed the ring over the side of the playpen unto the hands of the youngest brother, who was just five years old, as the baby's lip started to quiver. The six year old quickly climbed out of the pen._

_ "Angus, Seamus, and Liam! Get in here!" a voice called from the kitchen. It was a great aunt of the children._

_ The older two boys ran straight for the kitchen. Before the youngest joined them, he gave the teething ring back to his baby sister._

_ The scene went black again, the swirling fog digging for another memory._

_XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX_

"Alright doctor, let's begin." Nurse Mary said, giving the ready to Dr. Kasal.

"Let's start in the intestines. The reaction came from the lower small intestine. We'll examine that area first. Sterilize the line of incision."

When Mary had done that he went into the next step without hesitation.

"Scalpel," And with that, the incision was made to give a view of Echo's small intestine. On it were a few small lacerations.

Dr. Kasal sutured the lacerations with the biodegradable surgical thread.

"This isn't right. A few small lacerations shouldn't cause that much pain. Besides, how in the world did the lacerations get there with no external wounds?"

"Doctor! What is that?" Mary squealed. It took quite a lot to get Mary shook up.

"No!" Upon first sight at the fibrous worm like parasite, Dr. Kasal went into high alert. "Give me a Chiral {1} reading now!"

"Chiral reaction confirmed!" An aid yelped.

"Damn. I've not encountered one like this before. We're going to go at this carefully. One of you, contact the Caduceus databank and find out the extraction protocol for this strain!"

"What is that thing?" Mary asked.

"It's a strain of GUILT {2}. I remember my brother talking about this strain. All cases of it were handled by Caduceus USA." Dr. Kasal explained.

"But… but it was eradicated, right?"

"On Earth. I suppose Cyberspace is a new playing field. We have to slow this thing down until they come back with the proper procedure."

"Try the laser, doctor!"

Dr. Kasal hit a spot on the fibrous GUILT and it froze it in its tracks. Just as it did the researcher came over the headset to relay instructions.

"Dr. Kasal, this specific type of GUILT is called Paraskevi. There's only one way to remove it. You have to cut it down to a small enough size to extract."

The headset crackled lightly before going silent, meaning the instructions were over. With a steady hand Dr. Kasal cut the Paraskevi in half. The GUILT unfroze, both halves going about wildly, each making new bloody lacerations.

"Cutting them makes more?!"

Echo's vitals plummeted.

"Stabilize her vitals!" Greg barked.

"Vitals stabilized, doctor." Mary said after injecting a stabilization serum into Echo's bloodstream.

"We're going to have to take this one step at a time, but we can't waste time. Keep a close eye on her vitals."

Dr. Kasal focused on one half on the original Paraskevi. It divided again into two smaller pieces, then those two pieces were each cut again, leaving four, small enough to remove GUILT. Cutting the Paraskevi caused a laceration from each piece that was created from each cut. These lacerations that had to be sutured as soon as possible to keep Echo's vitals relatively stable. In the middle of the suturing, the doctor realized the other half was gone.

"Where is it?" Dr. Kasal demanded.

"Chiral reactions are coming from the stomach!"

Dr. Kasal quickly sutured the lacerations, closed the incision, and made a new one at the stomach. He had to catch the remaining Paraskevi before it got too far.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

_The memories following had been fairly decent ones. Echo, still held captive by the fog, was forced to watch herself grow up. Her first trip to America with her mother to see her grandparents plus meeting a few close friends and learning new things were among the things she saw. _

_ The next big memory was of when Echo was eight. She had been allowed to sit in on the boys' training for the Highland Games. Her half brothers had been teasing her, just as they always did._

_ "This isn't a place for little girls, Echo." Seamus had said. _

_ "Go on home and bake with your mum." Angus added. The emphasis on "your mum" had aggravated Echo to no end._

_ "She's your mum too! Besides, I can be here if I wanna." the little Echo had snapped back._

_ "Tell ya what. If you can toss one of these cabers," Angus motioned to the pile of tapered wood. "The same ones we have to use, father that we can, you can stay."_

_ "Fine."_

_ Angus, Seamus, and Liam each took their best shot at the caber toss. Angus and Liam made their toss, meaning the caber struck the ground straight up on the wide end, but Seamus did not. That left Echo to best two of her three half brothers. She stepped up to the line, hefted the caber at the narrow end and threw it. It seemed like an eternity for the blasted thing to land. When it did it landed stout ended straight up, beating both her brothers by a long shot. _

_ The three boys were flabbergasted._

_ "Well, seems like the wee lassie's earned her kilt. Unlike you three."_

_ "Uncle Harold! But… but she…" The boys stuttered._

_ "No 'buts', lads. You're just going to try harder now, aren't ye?"_

_ "Aye…"_

_ "Come on lass, let's get'cha home and tell this amazing tale to the others." Harold said, putting his hand on his niece's shoulder and steering her towards home._

_ A time later, Echo was challenged at the caber again. It was an attempt trying to prove her previous victory a fluke. Again Echo was not to be bested. For several months afterward she was trained in the other events, much to her brothers' dismay._

**That's when they totally left mum…**

_The memories went in fast forward then. Speedily the ongoing battle of her female family, trying to desperately to push her into femininity by pushing her with art, music and dance, against her male family who wanted her to focus more on strength with archery, weight throw, and the like. Months and months of memory passed in a blur, stopping shortly at Echo's ninth birthday. It was the day she got to choose her weapon from the clan armory._

_ "All right lassie, you've earned your keep. It's time for you to pick your personal weapon of choice. Take your time."_

_ Echo did take her time. Finally she found a foot long metal rod._

_ "What's this?" Echo asked her uncle._

_ "That is an Artemis staff. It's one of a kind. No one's used it in nearly a century or more."_

_ "How come?" _

_ "Well, it takes a special person to use it. Only somebody who had the true power to use it can wield it, let alone open it."_

_ Echo hefted the rod, weighing it in her hand. She swiftly, almost instinctively, gave the rod a jerk, and it extended to full five and a half feet._

_ "Well I'll be… You actually did it."_

_ "I want this one, Uncle Harold."_

_ "Fine, Fine. Here, this is its strap. It goes around yer thigh. And you'll want this," Harold said as he handed Echo a very old, much worn, leather journal._

_ The journal belonged to the last wielder of the Artemis._

_ "There's no one around to teach you the art of the Artemis. You're on your own with it. Hopefully this journal can help you learn its ways."_

_ The memory jumped forward again, to later that same night. It was when it was revealed that Echo's biological father had challenged for custody. It was ruled that summers for Echo would be spent with her father from then on._

**The only good part of those summers was the late night training sessions with Artemis.**

_ Again time blurred by stopping again when Echo was eleven, spending another summer with her father. Like just about every other night, David MacIntosh would stumble in drunk, heading straight for his bed. Long ago Echo had taken over paying bills, cooking, cleaning, and shopping. If it had been left to her father they'd be starving in the dark._

_ At first Echo didn't see herself in this memory. Then she spied the unruly cloud of red hair behind an electrical code manual. The little four room house was far below code and if not fixed by the time of inspection, the house would be slated for demolition. As usual, Echo was left to fix it herself. The fog brought back the blackness again. When the color came back, Echo was answering a knock at the door. When she opened it, there were three Black Coats._

_XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX_

"Removal of Paraskevi is complete. Good work Dr. Kasal." Mary said.

"That wasn't easy. And it's not over yet. Where's the next chiral reaction?"

"The next reaction is in the left lung, doctor."

"Very well. Let's close this incision and more on. Keep a very close eye on her vitals. We're pushing the limits here, but we have to get all of the GUILT out."

Dr. Kasal sutured the incision and bandaged it. The aids prepped the next incision area which fell just two inches below the left breast. Dr. Kasal sliced the skin apart into flaps and had the flaps securely pinned down. Then they went about temporarily breaking and removing sections of rib bone which were in the way. Behind those ribs were three shallow lacerations and three very deep, very ragged lacerations.

"At least I know whish type of GUILT did this." Dr. Kasal said. "Welcome to the Kyriaki strain, Mary."

"These parasites are all terrible! Let's begin with draining the excess blood from the larger lacerations."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

**WHY?! WHY DO I HAVE TO RELIVE THE BLACK COATS MAKING ME INTO A MONSTER?**

_Those wails from Echo were silenced by the fog though they were louder than fireworks in her head. Time flashed forward. Echo was helpless against the assault the memories flooding around her. Then everything grew dim._

_ Echo could see one thing and one thing only: a beautiful young mother holding the hand of her young son. The young boy was precious, only three or four years old, with wide, innocent eyes. While the boy was adorable, Echo's attention kept returning to the mother. Echo's blood ran cold as she realized who the woman was. She was the victim of THAT murder. The surroundings of the memory grew bright again and Echo saw her younger self, clad in a horribly familiar black uniform. The young Echo's face held absolutely no emotion. It hadn't for a long time. The young Echo went into an old brick building, her braided hair swishing against her back._

_ The scene changed and Echo saw herself standing in a small line of her colleagues behind the High Council, the governing force of her homeland. In front of the council sat a man in a wooden chair with both his wrists and ankles bound, eliminating any possibility of escape._

_ The man was Perth McGaherty and his crime was murder. He had made one fatal error when he did the deed. He had committed the heinous act in an alleyway behind a butcher's shop whose back door was guarded by a security camera. The film was shown for the council to see._

_ It had been late that fateful night and the woman, largely pregnant, and her young toddler were backed into the alley by McGaherty. The lip reading experts had reported that McGaherty had been screaming at the woman to tell him the gender of the unborn child. The woman, widowed by a sailor only months dead, did not know. This infuriated her murderer. _

_ McGaherty thrust the woman back against the ice cold alley wall. He brought out a switchblade knife and sliced open the woman's womb, pulling out the unborn children – a boy and a girl. He tossed the tiny, blood covered infants into the snow. The toddler tried to run for help instinctively. McGaherty had to stop this. There could be no witnesses. He slit the boy's throat and with the child still gurgling his last breaths, McGaherty walked away, leaving the woman to finish bleeding to death…_

_ The council asked Perth McGaherty what he had to say about his crime. McGaherty just laughed._

_ The Council's decision was absolute. McGaherty had to die for wrongly taking the lives of the woman and her children. McGaherty had been given two options: death by public hanging or death by private beheading. He chose the latter and both Echos gulped as they knew what was coming._

_ Once more the scene jumped ahead to another dark room, lit by a fire in a large stone hearth. McGaherty was knelt before his executioner, her blade, a slim katana, raised in preparation to strike._

_ "Who knew there'd come a day when they'd let a woman become an executioner!" Perth snorted._

_ "I pray you've made peace with your maker, Perth McGaherty." The executioner said in an emotionless tone._

_ In one swift move it was done. The head hit the floor with a muted thud and rolled. Blood spattered on the floor and dripped from the blade. The headless body slumped forward. Other agents would clean up the mess, dispose of the body. The executor raised the blade to see her reflection in its shiny metal. In it she saw herself. A monster._

"NOOOOOOOO!" Echo woke from her memory with a shrill scream. That was a problem. She was still on the operating table.

Echo bolted upright, away from the anesthesiologist. Her emerald eyes were wide open, taking in every detail of the brightly sanitized operating room, seeing a handful of people around her, all dressed in surgical scrubs with hats to match. Their jaws were dropped behind their white masks. One of the doctor's scrubs were bloody, and in his hand he held a bloodied scalpel. Echo glanced down and was met with horror. She had been cut open! Her skin was spread apart with silver pins holding them open. Echo's breathing picked up, and she could see her bloodied lung moving quickly about. She realized then that there should be ribs there. But there weren't. Where were her ribs? Echo's head snapped up. She locked eyes with Greg, her green eyes analyzing his brown ones.

A second later Greg snapped back into action.

"What the hell?! How is she awake?" Greg snapped. "Increase the sedative and get her back under! Somebody strap her to the table!"

"Dr. Kasal? How did that happen?" Mary asked, shaken.

"I-I honestly haven't a clue. We've defeated the Kyriaki so let's finish…"

"Doctor! What's that on her heart?" screamed Mary.

Dr. Kasal looked where Mary pointed and gasped.

"What is that damn bug? Let's get the ribs repaired. We're going to have to perform heart surgery. Make sure she stays under the anesthesia this time!"

While Echo was unceremoniously shoved back on to the table, strapped down, and put back to sleep, the doctors repaired her ribs, putting the ones they had removed back in their right place. An assistant wheeled in a large stainless steel table topped with all of the proper tools for heart surgery. With loud whir the oscillating saw came to life. It hissed as the blade touched the breastbone and cut through it. With a crack the breastbone was opened then pulled apart. Now with an unobstructed view of Echo's heart, Dr. Kasal did not like what he was seeing.

"This is bad."

**{1} Chiral: A type of wavelength put off by GUILT. Testing for it is the only way to confirm a GUILT infection.**

**{2} GUILT: ****Gangliated Utrophin Immuno Latency Toxin; a group of deadly man-made parasites that are each named after a Greek day of the week. There are 7 strains, each very different from the next.**


	9. GUILT Act II

**A/N: Here's chapter nine! This turned out to be really, really long. The page count on the word processor says fifty. I do believe this is the longest chapter I have written, ever. Any who, you get to see more of Echo's past and meet a new character or two. I hope it is as emotional as I wanted it to be. Well, I hope you enjoy it! ~ Kawaii Stella**

**The answer to the trivia question from the last chapter: Dr. Alexi Rasputin is the amalgam of Alexi, son of Russian Emperor Nicolas II and Rasputin, the man who was believed could help Alexi with his illnesses. **

**LEGEND:**

Plain text: Normal storyline

_Italicized_** : **_What's going on in Echo's head._

**BOLD: Echo's thoughts.**

Picking Up the Broken Glass

Kawaii Stella

Chapter Nine

GUILT

Act II  
>Savato<p>

Over Echo's heart was a web. A web spun by a spider-like parasite. This was the seventh form of GUILT, called Savato. It had been given a more common name by its creators: Death.

Death was a wicked thing. It was a bug with a corrosive protective outer shell that flickered like a midnight blue flame. It wove a web stole the victim's pulse, nullifying it, turning it into energy for the Savato. It fed and thrived off of the heart's beating. If not removed, the web, Death's nest, would steal the pulse of its victim's heart until it took it all.

The odds of surviving Death were less than 2%.

"D-Doctor? What are we going to do?"

"We've got to eradicate it, just like we did with the other two strains. We have to give it all we've got!"

"Dr. Kasal! We just received the procedural information and neutralizing serum from Caduceus!" an aid said, coming over the headset.

"Bring it in!" Kasal barked.

A nurse brought in a vial of a serum that was as black as a moonless night. Dr. Kasal's headset crackled again as the research division came on to read the report on Savato.

"This is the report from Dr. Derek Stiles when he removed Savato from Professor Kenneth Blackwell. It says here that first you have to cut away the web!"

"That's where we start. Scalpel."

Dr. Kasal was handed a scalpel and ever so carefully he began cut at the first strand of the web. After a few moments it was cut, and the first strand was dissolved. The surgical team was relieved the first thread came off smoothly until…

"What's with the scalpel?" Mary asked.

"It's… begun to melt! It started when it touched the web. Keep plenty of spares on hand. We've got to destroy the entire web."

With a new scalpel in hand, they attacked each thread until only one remained.

"Finally, it's almost over." Mary sighed.

However, as the last strand of the Savato's web was cut the parasite rebuilt it. Like any creature, it did not like having these long white things with their sharp objects coming at it. The Savato went on the offensive. Now every time a thread or two was cut away, it let loose a little army of smaller, immature blue Savato. The only way to remove the mini Savato was to incinerate them with the laser. Dr. Kasal quickly found that he would have to balance his attention between destroying the Savato's web and incinerating the mini Savato. While focusing on the little Savato, the web began to change color. From white, to pink, to a scarlet red until it got too hot. At its hottest it delivered a dangerous blow to its host's vitals.

The heart monitor began to shriek as the vitals swiftly declined.

"Doctor! We can't let the web turn red!"

"I realize that now, Mary. Let's get her vitals back up again. Hopefully when we destroy the nest, we'll destroy the Savato."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

** Something is happening to me on the other side. Something, that, whoever is up there doesn't want me to be awake for it. Whatever's happening to me is so terrible that they have to slice me open.**

_Echo stood in an empty space. Quite literally she stood in the middle of nothingness. Everything was black around her but light enough that she could see the grey fog form a circle around the perimeter. Immediately Echo knew she couldn't run away from it. No matter what she did she couldn't escape it. This fact drained Echo of hope. There wasn't any hope left to be had. Echo's blood ran cold, colder than Antarctic ice. She fell to her knees, hugging herself, trying to bring back even a shred of warmth. That was when the fog pounced. It consumed Echo, again holding her in an iron grasp while keeping her from letting out a single sound. Just like before the scene around her began to change. More memories began to replay in front of Echo's eyes._

_ It was shortly after the execution of Perth McGaherty. Echo was still a Black Coat. The Black Coats were the dark side of the police force; they did the dirty work that the regular officers wouldn't do. Echo still had a year left of service to the Xavier Black Assassin's Society after her horrendous first execution. Echo watched as she became a recluse to society as her time in the Black Coats continued._

_ People in Echo's hometown wondered about her. Why was she so quiet now? Why didn't she go into public unless she absolutely had to? And mostly, and this stood out more to her mother's family than to anyone else, why did she keep going back to her father's house? She had expressed her displeasure with living with her father before, so why was she now going back there every weekend and spending her breaks from school there? No one knew and Echo refused to talk about it. _

_ Echo watched as her family worried about her younger self, who had become quite haunted by her deed. Echo watched as she took night patrols and jobs to collect information. Finally, after months and months of sheer torture, of having to deal with her colleagues at the base, taking jobs that made her feel like the scum of the planet, her time as a Black Coat was done. She was discharged and without a second thought, ran straight back home in the dark of the night. At about three-thirty in the morning, she barged into her bedroom and collapsed on her bed in a heap before she burst into tears._

_ Nearly four weeks after her discharge, Echo's uncle Harold, finally confronted her._

_ "Lassie, you're not yourself anymore. You've really changed over the past two years. You've begun to burry yourself in work, archery and caber- though you don't need much improvement in that- and especially gymnastics. You never used to care much for that. Ye liked the flexibility and agility you got from it but not much more than that. Yer mum's pleased as pie about your newfound interest in gymnastics, she's ready to get you in Olympiad form so you can carry on her legacy. . . but that ain't you. Tell me, little lass, what's gotten into ya?"_

_ "I've got to keep occupied now, uncle. I just can't stay still anymore. I've got to find redemption from somewhere. And it seems like gymnastics is the way to redeem mum's affection and keep her around."_

_ "Redemption for what? Your mum's proud of you no matter what you doand so are the rest of us for that matter! Just because she's had problems since her first husband died, doesn't mean she doesn't love you. I know she's flighty and has trouble stickin' around all the time. But you have nothing to redeem yourself for. What's this all about?"_

_ "I… I can't!" The thirteen year old Echo wailed._

_ "Honey, tell me what's goin' on here? There's nothing you can say that'll turn us against you."_

_ "You don't know what I did!"_

_ "What happened, Echo? This whole thing with you started two years ago when you were spending the summer with yer dad."_

_ "Dad made a bad bet when he was drunk at the pub . . . He lost and couldn't pay up. So he used me as payment. I was sold into the Black Coats… Uncle Harold, I executed Perth McGaherty!"_

_ "Dear Lord…." Harold said as he took his sobbing niece into his arms._

_ "His blood is on my hands! I'm a horrible, horrible monster!" Echo sobbed into her uncle's shoulder._

_ "No you're not. You are a fine young lass who's… just befallen some misfortunes. We're going to find a way to keep you away from your father from now on. Shh… It's. It wasn't your fault."_

_ "I still killed him!"_

_ "That's in the past now. I want you to try to move on, okay?" Harold asked as he rocked his niece. "So, okay, why the gymnastics now?" _

_ "I figured if I could make people smile and be happy, maybe I'd be a little bit happier too. So that's why I'm doing gymnastics now. It makes mum really happy."_

_ "But does it make you happy?"_

_ "I'm not sure yet."_

_ "Echo, come on! Let's get you to the gym! The Olympics aren't going to wait just for you! How lucky are we that there's going to be a special junior Olympics held next winter? That could be your ticket into the next summer games!" Helena Glasgow, Echo's mother, called._

_ "Go on to practice. I'll talk to your mum later tonight when you get back."_

_ "Thanks, Uncle Harold." Echo said as she hugged her uncle. The young teen grabbed a duffle bag and ran to her mother._

_ Time surged forward, mostly in a cloud of chalk powder and nightmares. Echo watched her family accept her for who she was though Echo knew she was still a "black sheep". Echo watched her train in the gym in the fall, winter and spring, even when she started going to school in America. Summers were spent in a desperate attempt to do anything to keep her away from her father. But throughout the whole thing, there were still the nightmares._

_ Echo relived her audition for a travelling choir. It was there she made some of her closest friends. But… the fog was hiding some of the memories._

__**Wait. There are good memories in there. Why aren't I seeing them? Where are Ivan and his sister?**

_Echo was right. The fog was showing her prominent memories only, most of which were the bad ones. _

**Show me the whole memory! I know there is something good there… I just know it. Please… there has to be something to give me hope…**

_For one time and one time only, the fog showed Echo one of her favorite memories. It was after the junior Olympics, the summer of Echo's second tour with the choir. She was sitting backstage with the one person who had been able to get into her shell and pull her out. The two had grown even closer at the junior Olympics where he too had competed. _

_ "Here," the boy said as he handed Echo a cupcake._

_ "Ivan. What's this for?" Echo asked._

_ "It's for your birthday. I feel bad that I missed it."_

_ "You shouldn't have! My birthday was like a week ago." _

_ "I did it anyway. Now eat your cupcake. I made it myself and you can't have your birthday present until you eat it all."_

_ Echo watched as her fourteen year old self pigged out on the chocolate cupcake with little bits of bacon._

**Best. Cupcake. Ever.**

_Ivan's gift to Echo had been an air force jacket. Dark brown leather with a faux fur removable collar, it had the pilot's wing patch on the front left breast and the Russian flag on the right arm and the double eagle crest on the left. The two pockets were deep and well insulated._

_ "Oh my gosh! Ivan! This is amazing! You really shouldn't have." Echo said as she shrugged on the coat. _

_ "I'm glad you like it. I know you love aviation, so I talked to some guys in the force. I'm happy it fits. You are so very tiny."_

_ "I'm not small! You're just overly tall." Echo said in defiance._

_ "I'm just six-two."_

_ "Just six two," Echo scoffed. "You may be crazy, and tall, but I love you. Thanks for the best present ever."_

_ Then all performers were called to wardrobe. Something else happened during that performance. The fog wasn't just blurring the memory in front of her now. It was blurring the one in her mind too._

**NO! No, no, no, no! Where'd it go? I can't remember what happened! **

_The fog was becoming more and more cruel. It let go of Echo, vanishing. In the center of the space appeared a very realistic replication of Ivan._

**Those eyes, that nose, that sweet face… Ivan!**

_Echo ran to him but stopped short as Ivan dissipated into the grey fog._

**Ivan? IIIIIVAAAAN! **

_ Echo fell to her knees and sobbed as her one hope vanished. Another set of feet appeared in front of her. Red sneakers. Echo looked up and felt the paralyzing crush of helplessness take over her body. Echo didn't realize that her own soul could take such a shattering blow in her own subconscious. But as she looked up and was faced by Ledge, it did._

_XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX_

After destroying a total of four Savato nests and a thousand or more mini Savato, the web entrapping Echo's heart was gone. However, the Savato itself was not. It was still there, crawling about.

"Tell me how to get rid of this thing!" Kasal barked into his headset.

"First, you have to remove the corrosive shell. The only way to do that is to burn it away. The next step is to attack it with the scalpel. It is very likely that it will retaliate as you attack the corrosive layer. Be ready for anything. Also, the layer may come back more than once. Once it's slowed down enough, inject the serum to kill it for good." The researcher reported.

"Alright. Let's do this."

Dr. Kasal began to slowly burn away the corrosive shell of the Savato. As the midnight blue flame faded away, Savato began to panic. It darted across the heart, leaving a laceration which swarmed with the mini Savato. Quickly they had to be burned away before they merged and made another, a bit more mature yet just as sinister, Savato. The laceration was then sutured before Dr. Kasal returned to burning away the layer. Finally it was gone and he wasted no time in attacking the parasite itself. Savato slowed for a moment and the chiral reaction dropped. The end was near. The layer returned, and they started again.

Savato knew that it was losing this battle. It made more and more lacerations all over the heart. It took time to suture the lacerations which were being made three at a time. During that time the heart rate began to fall and falter. But they couldn't give up just yet. The shell was gone. Dr. Kasal attacked with the scalpel. This was it. The injection was ready. Dr. Kasal injected the serum into the Death parasite. It shook about, making a few last ditch lacerations. At last, Death had been defeated.

"Chiral reaction is negative. Amazing work, Greg. She's going to make it." Mary said with a smile on her face.

Dr. Kasal finished suturing the last of the lacerations. "Finally. It's finally over."

The monitor began to make a spine chilling whine as Echo's heart shuddered to a stop.

"NO! Dammit! We've come too far to give up now, kid! Hurry! Ready the defibrillator!"

In these times, there stood a rule in medical practice. It was commonly referred to as the Five Shock Rule. If five tries with the defibrillator didn't succeed, the patient had to be declared dead.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

_The darkness went away, as did Ledge. Echo felt nothing. No pain, no fear, nothing. Everything was calm. Every weight that had ever been on her body was gone._

**I'm free. Finally I'm free. **

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Dammit! Come on!"

The third time wasn't the charm, nor was the fourth.

"One more time! Come on kid! Live!"

With force Greg brought down the paddles one last time. One last time the defibrillator went off, sending electricity surging through Echo's heart. When the electricity faded, a beeping became heard. The beeping started as soon as Echo's heart did.

"Thank you God." Greg Kasal sighed as he put down the defibrillator and reset the sternum. He sewed the skin back together and gave the OK for Echo to be taken to post-op to be bandaged.

Greg took his time changing out of his scrubs. That, without a doubt, had been the most challenging operation he had ever faced in his career. He was drained. He couldn't remember himself ever being more afraid of losing a patient. Greg exited the changing room to face the waiting Dr. Alexi Rasputin.

"Greg, amazing job. How's she doing?"

"She's still in critical condition. She will be for at least twelve more hours. We had some very close calls, but she'll be okay. Listen, I know I'm only supposed to be here a couple more days, but I'd like to stay around until she's discharged."

"Absolutely. I'll have it arranged. Get some rest. The nurses will let you know if they need your help. I'm going to call Sartorius and let him know the situation."

~Shovat Family Island~

"Is everything alright, Dad?" Abel asked as his father returned to the dinner table.

"Yes, everything's fine, Abel." said Sartorius. "I was afraid that I would get called away from our vacation but as it turns out my help wasn't needed at the hospital after all."

"What happened, dear?" asked Arella, Sartorius' wife.

"They had an emergency patient brought there in critical condition. This patient was one with a rare virus not found in Cyberspace. Somehow the patient contracted several strains. Luckily they were able to operate successfully. They called earlier in case they needed an extra hand in the operating room."

"How strange. I wonder how the person got the disease. What was it, exactly?" asked Abel.

"They didn't tell me exactly what it was. I was told it was being investigated. But I do worry about how it got into Cyberspace. I was told the victim was taken from Sensible Flats."

Marbles eyes widened but he shook his head as one of his siblings changed the subject to something else. It couldn't have been her. Marbles withdrew himself from the dinnertime conversation. Ada looked at her beau, immediately seeing the worry on Marbles' face that he was trying so hard to conceal.

Eventually the night wore on and both Ada and Marbles retreated into their room. When the door was shut behind them, Marbles trudged to the bed and unceremoniously flopped down onto it face first. Ada sat on the edge of the bed next to him and rubbed her hand across his back.

"That report about that emergency patient is bothering you," Ada said.

"Yes it's bothering me! You heard my father. The patient came from Sensible Flats!" Marbles said into the bed.

Ada didn't respond. She knew well enough that Marbles would finish this train of thought without any prodding. Marbles sat upright on the bed, worriedly picking at the comforter's seam.

"Ada, you know as well as I do that there are very few humans on Sensible Flats. What if that patient was Echo? What if that was her on the operating table? I knew I shouldn't have left. I…"

"Marbles," Ada interrupted. "It very well could've been a human passerby that got infected with that virus. You said yourself that if she's not at the courthouse she's at the orphanage. That makes the odds of Echo being the patient very slim."

"I know. But I can't help but worry about her."

"I know you worry about her. That's a part of what makes you so sweet." Ada wrapped her arms around her love. "I bet when we go back she'll be right there waiting for you to visit. She'll be as happy to see you as you are to see her."

"You're right. I should just clear my head and enjoy this down time."

"Exactly. Why don't you go for a swim? That almost never fails to clear your mind."

"Great idea! Care to join me, milady?"

"No thanks," Ada giggled. "I think I'll just sit here and relax."

"Suit yourself," Marbles said with a smile. He left his room then, heading for the shore, trying to take Ada's advice.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

~New Hope Hospital~

It took three days before Echo opened her eyes again. During those days she had made significant progress in healing, but she still had a long way to go. When she awoke, Echo found herself in a bright room. She had no clue where she was. All she knew was that she ached all over and that she was starving. A young blonde nurse came in just as Echo was about to pull the breathing tubes from her nose.

"Oh you're finally awake! Don't take that out! How do you feel?"

"Horrible," Echo groaned.

"Are you sore?"

Echo nodded.

"Okay. I'm one of your nurses, Angie. I'm going to get Dr. Kasal so he can give you the right pain meds."

Echo nodded again and let her head fall back against her pillow. Soon after, Dr. Kasal came in with Nurse Angie.

"Hey there, Echo. I'm glad to see that you're finally awake. You gave us quite the scare, but you're going to do just fine after you're all healed up. I'm going to let Angie give you a slight painkiller. I'd like to go over with you what happened before I let you have a stronger one, alright?"

"O-okay," Echo agreed.

Angie injected the pain medicine into Echo's IV drip and left to tend to other patients while Dr. Kasal pulled up a chair to Echo's bedside.

"First thing, I'm Dr. Greg Kasal. I'm your doctor here and I also was the one who operated on you. You were affected by a virus called GUILT. It's manmade and we assume you contracted it while you were driving out it's developers from an underground sewage plant. Does this sound about right?"

Echo nodded her head yes.

"It's unusual for a person to contract more than one specific strain of GUILT. Yet you managed to get three. One was in your liver and stomach, one in your lung, and one over your heart. We had to operate to remove all three completely. Your ribs are healing nicely after we reformed them after surgery. Your sternum is on pace as well, but as it's a bigger, more important bone, it will take longer to fully heal. But with today's medicine it shouldn't take more than a month or two."

"You… cut open my breastbone?" Echo asked.

"Yes," Greg nodded. "We had to have direct access to your heart. You woke up during the operation on your left lung and we aren't sure how you managed that. Whatever was going on in your head was not something you liked."

"No, it wasn't." Echo said coldly. The memories of seeing the inside of her own body were starting to come back to her.

"There was only one other complication in your operation. Before I tell you what happened I want you to be assured that you are going to be just fine and you have nothing to worry about."

"Just tell me."

"You flat lined at the end of the operation. Your heart stopped for a couple minutes. Obviously we were able to re start your heart."

Echo put her hand over her heart, right where bandages were wrapped over the stitches. She then realized there was a brace around her waist.

"What's with this brace?"

"We put that on you so that if you moved too much in your sleep, it wouldn't disturb the stitches too much. I can take it off now, if you'd like."

Echo agreed and Dr. Kasal unfastened the brace and let Echo sit up more. After a moment she finally asked a question that had been at the front of her mind.

"What day is it? How long was I asleep for?"

"It's late Friday afternoon. You've been asleep since your operation on Wednesday morning."

"Almost three days? I shouldn't have been asleep that long!"

"Normally, no. But after the trauma of the surgery, your body needed more time than usual to reset itself. I know you just woke up, but with heart surgery it's important to get you up and moving as soon as possible. I'm going to have some food brought up here then I'll be back to get you started on rehabilitation."

"Food? Good. I'm starving."

"That's an excellent sign. Just relax and we'll get you fed."

Just as Dr. Kasal said, Echo was fed and then right after started in rehab. Echo did well, to the pleasure of the staff. After a few nights had passed, Echo was being bathed by Nurse Angie. Angie noticed all the bruises over Echo's body.

"You poor thing. That horrible GUILT left you all bruised up. Now you'll be able to heal completely."

"Those aren't from GUILT. I got them at the orphanage." Echo told her.

"Don't be silly! Of course it's from the GUILT. I think you've had a little too much pain medicine today, missy. Well, I'm all done here so why don't you get some rest. You'll be able to go back to Sensible Flats soon."

_She didn't believe me!_ Echo thought, shocked, as Angie left._ I reached out to somebody I thought I could trust and they just laughed. I know now there is no one I can trust._

Another crack was added then to Echo's already fractured soul.

Thursday morning came bright and early. Echo was in a dismal mood, the same mood she'd almost constantly been in since Angie had laughed off her plea for help. Echo felt alone. Alone because she had no one to help her. No one could be trusted now. She would stay away from people from then on.

Dr. Kasal came in and told Echo that in just an hour, she would be discharged and sent back to Sensible Flats. A growing sense of dread blossomed inside Echo. Angie brought in several post surgery bras that Echo was to wear for the foreseeable future. Echo was given a travel bag to store her new bras, antibiotics, and painkillers in. And quick as that she was back on the front steps of the orphanage. Echo, sadly, walked inside.

"Welcome back, sweetie! It's been awfully different without you here." Truehart said as she strode over to Echo. Immediately Truehart spied Echo's bag. "I need to check that bag, Echo. I can't let you keep anything that's not approved for you."

Truehart ripped the bag out of Echo's hands and from it took both bottles of pills.

"I'm afraid I can't let you keep these. If you need them come to me and I will administer them. Everything else seems to be in order here. You may go back to your cell now. I left cleaning supplies in there so you can clean up the mess you left last week. Skedaddle now, you have cleaning to do."

Echo slipped back into her cell, greeted by a horrid stench. It was the settled smell of her vomit. Echo gagged but cleaned the entire mess anyway. When lunch came her plate was pushed through. There was much less on it than normal. After lunch she was thrown into the lobby, "to keep you active" as Truehart had put it. Immediately she was cornered by Samantha and her clique.

"My, my, don't you look awful. Well, more awful than normal. Maybe we can help you." Samantha grinned.

One girl kicked Echo behind the knee caps, sending her to the floor. Echo stayed on her stomach, protecting her most vulnerable areas. Eventually dinner came, and Echo went as fast as she could back into her cell, knowing well that she'd have a new set of bruises on her back side. An hour or two after dinner was done, Echo's painkillers wore off and her chest was ablaze. But when Echo went to leave to get one of her pills, she found that she was locked in.

Echo screamed and cried for someone to come and help her. Twenty minutes after no one came Echo dejectedly laid on her bed, trying to learn how to cope with this excruciating pain. The next morning she knew no one was going to help her. She ate her meager meals and waited to be thrown to the wolves. Today, Ledge was back after her. Ledge backed Echo into a supply closet, just up the hall from her cell.

"I missed you, sweetheart. I heard you had surgery. Got any cute scars you'll show me?"

"Back off. Leave me alone!"

"Not a chance, Echo. You've been gone far too long. I need to have some one on one time with you."

Ledge backed Echo up against the wall, pressing his body completely against hers. Echo struggled under the pressure. She began to panic. Ledge pinned Echo's hands above her head. She had only one chance. Echo collided her knee with Ledge's vital regions. He fell to the floor and took Echo with him, not relinquishing his grip on her.

"Why do you have to be so damn stubborn? I'm trying to bring you to the good life but you simply won't budge. You're just a wild mare who needs to be broken. I'll let you know that after today, you'll be broken."

Ledge, despite the pain in his nether regions, punched Echo in the left ribcage then dragged her over to a fan which was missing its grate. Ledge grabbed a large chunk of Echo's hair and held it around the inner engine. Ledge gave a small laugh as he turned the fan to reverse. Immediately Echo's hair was caught in the fan's engine. As the fan ate more and more of Echo's hair, Ledge left the closet.

Somehow, Echo managed to switch off the fan but could not pull her hair free. A pair of scissors lay on a shelf some distance away. With tears streaming down her cheeks, Echo dragged the fan over to where the scissors were. She sobbed as she heard her hair being cut away. When she was free there was still a large portion of hair as long as the other side once was. The coldness that Echo had encountered with the fog was back and she saw no hope of warming back up. Echo slipped the scissors up her sleeve and ran into her room where she locked the door and fled into the bathroom where she attempted to even out her hair. Her hair now came an inch and a half, if not a little more, above her shoulders, a radical difference from before.

Echo then dug through her trunk and layered her clothing, trying to warm herself up. She chucked her art supplies to the bottom of the trunk and tore the drawings down off the walls, stuffing them too into the trunk. There wasn't a point in trying anymore. Echo then burrowed beneath the blankets on her bed and curled into a ball where she cried until her eyes were dry and her whole abdominal was ablaze in pain. Eventually she fell asleep, just to be woken again and again by nightmares.

The next day Echo would eat, but refused to leave her room. Despite what she ate she wasn't satisfied. She spent all her time curled in a ball, facing the wall, fearing any type of contact.

Sunday came. Like usual, Echo hadn't slept and changed her clothes early, dressing in as many layers as she could as she tried to beat the cold. Hot showers barely did anything for her. Echo made her bed then curled up again on top of it.

Dr. Marbles was excited to be back from his vacation. Barely even visiting hours, he was already approaching the orphanage. He entered the orphanage and headed straight back to the hall that lead to Echo's little cell. As soon as he entered that hall he knew something was amiss. Through the Plexiglas Marbles saw Echo curled up on her bed, the hood of her sweatshirt pulled up over her head. Marbles rapped his knuckles against the window but got no response. He opened the door.

"Echo?"

No response.

Marbles walked over to the bed and touched Echo gently on the shoulder. She reacted like she had been touched with a live cattle prod. Echo leapt back into the corner, pressing herself into it.

"No! Don't touch me!" Echo wailed. "Stay away!"


	10. Trust

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long! It has actually turned out a lot longer than I expected it to. I like how it turned out. I hope you do to. There are footnotes again this time.**

**As usual I don't own Cyberchase.**

Picking Up the Broken Glass

Kawaii Stella

Chapter Ten

Trust

Marbles stood there in shock and confusion. What in Cyberspace had just happened? Echo had violently recoiled from the softest of touches to her shoulder then had screeched at him to go away while pressing herself into the corner on her bed. She was still telling him to leave her alone and to not dare take another step towards her. Marbles took a slight step backwards. Very carefully he assessed Echo's appearance.

Very dark shadows encircled her eyes. It was a strong telltale sign that Echo had not slept in a long time. Her emerald eyes proclaimed fear and mistrust; there was not warmth to be found in the green orbs. Her skin was paler than it should be. Echo's cheeks were sunken in, which was a good indication that she had lost quite a few pounds off of her already small frame. Overall, Echo looked hurt. Behind the stronger emotions of fear and mistrust stood a lot of pain hiding in the background.

Marbles sighed sadly. It hurt him very much to see Echo this way. She had made progress prior to his departure. Now it was all for not. Any strides she had taken were reversed tenfold. Despite her pleas and commands for him to leave, Marbles stood his ground. He wasn't about to let her remain suffering like this. He would do whatever it took to right things in Echo's world.

Echo whimpered in fear as Marbles took two steps towards her, sitting himself on the bed just over an arm's length away from her.

"Echo." Marbles said softly.

"Why won't you leave already?" Echo said. Her voice cracked- she was trying not to cry. "What do you want from me?"

"I'm not going to leave you like this. I want to help you."

"That's what they all say." Echo countered, crossing her arms over her chest.

An excruciating silence filled the air. Marbles watched Echo's each movement. Her eyes were focused on him in an assessing way. From the way she looked at him he knew something else was amiss. From the look in her eyes, Marbles could tell she was trying to put two and two together. She was trying to put a name to a face. His face.

"Echo, do you remember who I am?" Marbles asked gently.

A few more silent moments passed before Echo's mouth opened to speak.

"D-Dr. Marbles?"

It was barely more than a whisper, but Marbles heard her.

"Yes, that's right."

Echo's eyes softened just a fraction of a degree. It was nowhere near a very noticeable change, but Marbles saw it. Marbles scooted a bit closer to Echo. Echo curled a little more into a ball at his approach, but now that Marbles had begun to tear down this wall she had made, he wasn't about to give up.

"Echo," Marbles began. He started to reach his hand out to her.

In the split second it took for the sight of Marbles' hand coming towards her to reach her brain, she had her eyes clamped shut and she curled completely into herself. She was bracing for impact. It only took Marbles a moment to realize that Echo thought that he was going to strike her. The fact was both shocking and saddening.

Marbles placed his hands in his lap and stifled another sigh.

_She's so broken. . ._ Marbles thought sadly. _Echo's even afraid of me now. Where did that girl, who just two weeks ago smiled and told me that she had finally stood up for herself, disappear to? Somehow, I've got to get her to remember that she can trust me. The problem is how will I do that?_

Scooting a little closer to Echo, Marbles reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into him. Echo panicked and began to squirm and thrash about, trying desperately to break free from Marbles' arms.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Echo wailed. "Let me go!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that."

Every wave of struggling Echo threw at Marbles resulted in him holding her tighter. Not so tightly that it hurt her, but by the time Echo gave up her struggle she was firmly pinned against his chest.

It had taken ten minutes for Echo to finally surrender her struggle. She stayed still, rigid as a steel pole, eyes focused on the cider block wall.

"Echo."

Silence.

"Echo I want you to think. Think back as far as you've known me. Remember how we met and the days we spent together. Please, Echo, I _need _you to remember those times."

Marbles gave Echo several moments to think things through before asking her his most significant question.

"Look at me Echo."

Reluctantly Echo looked him in the eyes.

"Remember how you trusted me then? You can still trust me. I want you to. Echo, will you trust me again?"

That question rang louder than gunshots in Echo's ears. She looked into Marbles' honey-brown eyes. They were not full of cruel coldness. They were aglow with warmth and concern. No violent intents rested behind them. It was there Echo realized there never had been. Ever.

Thinking back, Echo remembered how Marbles had shown concern for her the day they had met, when he saw the bruise marring her right cheek and eye. He had promised her they'd get through this. Their hands pressed together on the glass. Watching the ducks in the park together and talking about all sorts of things. Never had a threat been posed or harsh words been thrown. Dr. Marbles had never hurt her and Echo knew he never would. Marbles was her friend.

Echo's eyes cleared hastily of the mistrust. Some fear remained but it wasn't of Marbles. Her eyes glossed over with a shiny film of tears.

Echo nodded her head and squeaked out a "yes."

A soft smile spread across Dr. Marbles' lips as Echo's body relaxed. The real Echo was coming back to him. Echo hesitated but went ahead and laid her head against Marbles' chest.

Resting one hand of the top of Echo's head while keeping his other arm around her, Marbles continued to hug her. She was so broken on the inside. Echo needed love; something she was being starved of.

A sharp spasm ripped through Echo's body.

"Are you cold?" Marbles asked. The temperature of the room felt fine to him. Yet Echo was wearing a sweatshirt.

"Freezing. There is no warmth." Echo said flatly.

"Oh Echo. .* . What happened to you? You seemed like you were doing so well before I left."

"A lot of things happened. I got really sick."

"How sick?"

"I was in the hospital for a week or so. I. . . I . . ." A series of rough sobs kept Echo from finishing her sentences.

Dr. Marbles switched back to holding her close with both arms, prepared to wait as long as it took for Echo to cry herself out. On the third or fourth sob, the cry hitched in Echo's chest and she quickly knew what was coming.

Echo tore herself from Marbles' arms, lunging towards the head of her bed. She grabbed the thin pillow, clutching it tightly to her chest. Into the pillow Echo hashed out a series of harsh ragged, painful hacking coughs.

By the time the coughs subsided, Echo was reduced to a small heap lying on her side, taking uneven breaths from her slightly opened mouth. The ordeal had been exhausting, thus Echo's eyelids had drifted shut as she tried to slowly relearn the basic fundamental of breathing.

Marbles then began to grasp how sick Echo had been during his absence.

Marbles eased himself off of the bed and kneeled on the floor next to Echo's head. He went to caress her face but wisely thought better. Instead he laid a hand on her upper arm, just below the shoulder. Echo's body momentarily tensed at the contact but she did not recoil as she did earlier. Once her breathing was regulated, Echo opened her eyes again. Her emerald eyes were dark, proclaiming loudly that she was in very much physical pain.

"Did you undergo surgery while you were in the hospital?" Marbles asked.

Echo nodded her head.

"Weren't you given antibiotics and pain management pills?"

"Yeah but I don't have 'em. Truehart took all my medicine from me when I got back."

Marbles was sickened by this. Abigail had overstepped the boundaries set by proper child care by a mile. Marbles wasn't sure what Abigail had against Echo, but this had gone way too far and something had to be done.

"When I came back, she said all I had to do was go to her when I needed my pills. That night when I needed them I went to go get my pills but I was locked in here. No matter how much I screamed for help, nobody ever came. . ." Echo told Marbles.

Marbles felt so extremely sorry for this poor girl.

"Obviously you need to see a doctor again. Your health isn't going to improve at all if you are in this much constant pain. You were taken to New Hope, right? Who was your doctor there?"

"Yeah, my doctor was Dr. Greg Kasal. But it's useless. They won't let me off the site."

"Don't say that it's useless. If I can't take you to Dr. Kasal, we're going to get him here."

Echo was taken aback. This guy was really determined to help her. Echo was about to say something when her stomach made a noise which can only described as a mix between a growling wolf and a mating whale.

The time was not quite yet a lunch hour, so Dr. Marbles was confused.

"Haven't you eaten breakfast yet?" he asked.

"It's over there." Echo said, nodding her head in the general direction of the little table partitioned by the Plexiglas window.

On the table saw a little plate on which little food remained.

"It seems you ate almost everything."

"That _is_ everything. Minus a piece of burnt toast."

"Why didn't you eat the rest? All of your meals aren't this small, are they?"

"Anymore they are. It doesn't matter though. Food's not worth eating anyway. What's tolerable to eat I throw up anyway. I get to be in so much pain I lose my stomach."

Marbles took a closer look at the food on the plate and agreed it was not worth eating.

"Were you able to keep down what you did eat?" Marbles doubtfully asked.

Echo shook her head no.

Marbles stood from his kneeling position.

"Ready to go then?"

"What?"

"I figure while you eat, I'll get a hold of Dr. Kasal and get him here to see you."

"Oh. Okay."

Echo slowly rose off the bed but stumbled as she stood on her feet. Marbles grabbed a hold of Echo's elbow to balance her. The second Echo had regained a steady footing, a scowl crossed her face. Marbles quickly released his hold on Echo, thinking his touch had caused her the discomfort.

Truth was, Echo was not bothered by Marbles' touch. She was angry at herself. Angry because she could barely stand on her own. Echo was angry because she was weak.

The two made their way out of the orphanage. Both could feel the piercing stares of the other children stab into their backs.

Echo hadn't a notion as to where she was going. She simply followed Dr. Marbles. Eventually they came to a back door of a modest-sized building. Marbles knocked, already knowing who would answer.

"Well, well. Look who's back from his vacation." said a well set woman whose dark blonde hair was in a messily formed bun which had a splotchy dusting of flour.

"Hello, Martha. It's nice to see you too."

"Hmm, I can tell from the look on your face that something's not right."

"You're right," Marbles said before going into a brief summary of how he met Echo and her current situation.

"I never did like that Truehart woman." Martha said. ""I just have one question for you. Where is your Echo?"

It was then Marbles realized Echo was no longer at his side. He found her just a few feet away, hunched over a metal garbage tin.

Placing his hand between her shoulder blades, Marbles felt the tremors left from the empty heaves.

"Are you alright?" Marbles asked softly.

Pulling her head out of the trash can, Echo responded meekly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just dry heaves… I'm not in a lot of pain."

"You're stomach will settle once you've eaten a proper meal. Come on, Martha is one hell of a cook."

Being led into the building, Echo was introduced to Martha. The woman was well set with rosy cheeks and a sweet smile. This smile was the opposite the one Echo had seen plastered on Truehart's face. Truehart's smile was falsely warm and undeniably cruel. This smile was warm, genuinely warm, and caring. Though Echo still deemed nearly every being around her a threat, she would try hard to tolerate this woman. Martha did not harbor any cruel intent. She was a kind woman who did what was right.

Martha introduced herself to Echo and led the girl to a small table in the corner of the room. To Echo's relief, Martha did not touch her. Marbles let Echo know that he was leaving to contact Dr. Kasal but he assured her he'd return soon.

Echo watched the door intently, eyes darkening- darkening not out of anger but with a mix of sadness and fear. Martha noticed this and speedily worked to redirect Echo's attention.

"He'll be back soon, sweetie." Martha promised Echo. "While I get you a plate fixed, why don't you tell me about yourself?"

Echo was silent until Martha took it upon herself to break the ice.

"You worked at the courthouse, right?"

"Yes, ma'am," Echo answered then spoke no more.

"Have you met Marbles' girlfriend yet?" Martha asked, hoping for a lengthy response from Echo.

"Yes ma'am, Ada is very nice."

Puzzled by Echo's lack of conversation, Martha took the girl her meal.

A plate full of hearty mashed potatoes with gravy, steamed broccoli, a large flaky biscuit, and a nice sized sirloin crowded the white dish. Everything was superbly fresh, still steaming, with a tantalizing aroma enough to make even a vegetarian's mouth water. Echo wasted no time in eating.

Now, one would believe that if a starving person was given a plate of gourmet food, that person would tear into it with an animalistic behavior. Echo did not. Echo ate slowly and mannerly, knowing if she ate fast, she'd just get sick to her stomach again.

As Echo ate Martha watched her. The orphan's eyes stayed downcast the entire time. The sight was saddening. Martha had seen Echo run errands for Judge Trudy before. She'd also seen Echo while she catered to the courthouse on behalf of her little restaurant, The Front Porch.

Thinking about what Marbles had said about Echo, Martha realized that Echo wouldn't say much because she was scared to. After all of the abuse, it had been branded in Echo's head to fear all people. And Martha knew, without a doubt, it all stemmed from the actions of Abigail Truehart.

"That Truehart woman is a cruel monster." sighed Martha, not expecting Echo to speak back.

"She needs her ass-whipped…" Echo muttered, just barely loud enough to be heard.

_Whaddya know? It's buried deep in her, underneath all that rubble, but there is a tiny spark o' life left in that girl._ Realized Martha.

"Damn straight she does," the woman agreed, taking Echo's empty plate from her. "Now how 'bout some chocolate cake?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Doctor Greg Kasal was now en route to Sensible Flats. He had hastily agreed to the impromptu examination of his most challenging patient. After being told of Echo's current condition, Dr. Kasal urged Dr. Marbles to do what he could to get the original two bottles of pills from Truehart. None too excited was Marbles about having to deal with Abigail more than necessary. But this was for Echo, so he would do whatever needed to be done.

Re-entering the orphanage, Marbles was immediately cornered by Abigail who led the doctor into her office. The fact that Abigail didn't care where Echo was or why she was not with Marbles did not go by unnoticed by Marbles.

"My, my. Aren't you a frequent visitor today?" Abigail smirked.

"I'm not here to socialize, Abigail." Marbles assured her.

"If you're not here to socialize then why are you here?" she purred.

It was increasingly hard for Marbles to keep a disgusted look off of his face.

"Echo has an appointment with Dr. Kasal in forty-five minutes and she needs to take her medications with her." Marbles said.

Abigail's smile slipped at the mention of Echo. She could not understand why Marbles was so concerned with that little wretch when he could be fawning over her.

"Oh the little brat's-oh I mean angel- the little angel has a doctor's appointment does she? Well, I'm sorry, but I can't let her have those pills."

"What? Now why can't she have her own medications?" Marbles asked, already more than irritated with Abigail.

"Echo, how can I put it. . .?" Abigail lowered her voice to a near whisper. "Is what we call a special circumstances child. She has issues that cause her to be volatile to others. Mixed with her "unique" mindset, she poses an immediate threat to anyone near her. That's why we had to put her in solitary confinement."

"I fail to see how that is a rational reason to keep Echo's medicine from her." Marbles stated.

"I figured you were smart enough to figure it out, Dr. Marbles!" Abigail giggled. "It's the side effects, silly! The side effects of those medicines could make her go crazier than she is now, making her more of a threat than she already is. That's why I can't let her have those pills. Plus, Echo's at a higher risk to develop an addiction to the pain pills, another reason why it's a bad idea to let her have them."

Marbles was furious. Within these bold faced lies Abigail had insulted both him and Echo. Abigail's statements were so obviously false. Marbles' wanted to counter all of these false statements with the truth. The truth was that Abigail was full of herself, not to mention a poor liar, and that Echo was not a threat to anyone and far from crazy.

But he couldn't blow this. He had to do this for Echo. Marbles painfully swallowed his pride and pressed on.

"If you won't allow Echo to have the pills, would you allow me to keep them for her? You know you can trust me."

Abigail pretended to mull things over before responding.

"Nope. Sorry honey, I can't do that." Abigail said with a smile.

Marbles, taken aback by this, continued on in attempt to determine just what was going on in that woman's head.

"Why not? Abigail, Echo needs those pills for her appointment with Dr. Kasal. You can be assured I would not give Echo the pills. They would stay with me."

"My answer is still no, Doctor."

_This is becoming ridiculous_. Marbles thought.

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Now you wouldn't want me to drag Sheriff Judy into this, would you?"

"You wouldn't dare!" Abigail squealed. Despite her attempt to keep her tone playful, the panic was detectable.

Marbles knew his plan was working.

"Why don't I just call Sheriff Judy and we can let her decide who will take the pills?"

Marbles reached for the telephone's receiver. He saw the panic consume Abigail's face, foreseeing the consequences if they decided to put her under investigation.

Just as Marbles began to lift the receiver from its cradle, Abigail pushed his hand down, putting the receiver back into its cradle.

"Oh alright you win! I must say, you're a tough one." Abigail said as she handed over the two small orange prescription bottles.

Quickly pocketing the bottles, Marbles rose from his seat and excused himself from Abigail's office. He couldn't stand to be in there for one more moment. It didn't take but a few minutes for Dr. Marbles to return to the back door of The Front Porch. Letting himself in, Marbles saw Martha, but not Echo. Martha knew that Echo would be the first thing Marbles would ask about.

"She's dozin' in the window seat," Martha said, nodding over to the window where the tiny girl was curled up.

"Did she eat well?" Marbles probed.

"Oh yeah. Little thing cleaned her plate and polished off a piece of cake too."

"That's great." Marbles said, subsequently stopped before he could say anything else.

"Now let me tell you somethin'." Martha told Marbles. "After you left, that girl," she inclined her head towards Echo, who was curled up in the soft sunshine. "Watched the door with an expression I can only describe as like a puppy that'd just been dumped by its owner. That sweet little thing relies on you and I'm glad she does. I'd be scared of what would happen to her if she didn't have you."

Marbles was speechless. When Martha spoke her mind, there usually wasn't anything else to say because of the truth to her words. So, Martha continued on.

"I've been out here a long time, Marbles. And sadly I don't think this is the first time something like this has happened. Sadder still is how those stories probably ended. Make it be different this time. Get her the help she needs."

"Believe me, I will." Marbles vowed.

Realizing how close the time was until Echo's appointment, Marbles woke Echo from her nap.

"Hey, you're back." Echo said sleepily.

"Uh-huh." Marbles gave Echo a soft smile. "Come on, Dr. Kasal's waiting to see you."

With the quickest movements she could muster, Echo got up from her seat and followed Marbles to the door. As the two were about to leave, Martha turned from keeping an eye of her sous chefs and addressed Echo.

"Girl, I know you have spunk in ya. You need to find it again."

Echo nodded and was then led outside by Marbles.

As the two walked down the street, the hood of Echo's sweatshirt slipped from her head.

Shocked by the reduced length of Echo's hair, Marbles couldn't help but ask, "Echo, what in the world happened to your hair?"

"One of the boys dragged me into the supply closet. He held me down and put a chunk of my hair in a fan without a grate and turned it on reverse. I had to cut it to get free and again to even it out. I think he broke a couple ribs too…" Echo explained, crossing her arms back over her chest.

Marbles had not known what he had expected Echo to say, but it hadn't been that. He felt so terrible for Echo. He felt this was entirely his fault because he had selfishly gone on vacation.

The silence caused by Marbles' mental berating of himself caused Echo to believe something was wrong with her.

"I know I didn't do a great job getting it even, but I tried." Echo said quickly.

"No, no. You did a good job evening out your hair." Marbles assured her. "How did this boy break your ribs?"

"He punched me where they were still healing. So really he just broke the bones where they had already been broken."

"Why were they already broken? Did someone else break them the first time?"

"Yeah, Dr. Kasal did."

Finally it clicked for Marbles.

"They cut open your ribcage during surgery," he realized.

Echo said nothing, nodding her head instead.

A minute later they were inside the small clinic. It was immediately apparent that New Hope had sent along a handful of their staff with Dr. Kasal. All visible staff wore the New Hope crest. Marbles checked Echo in and handed back her medications. They didn't even get to sit down before Dr. Kasal greeted them.

Dr. Marbles had told Dr. Kasal of Echo's current mindset; of how she was terrified of people and only really trusted Marbles. Dr. Kasal was willing to allow Marbles to accompany Echo in place of a parent so that progress could quickly be made.

Using a small examination room as a makeshift office, both doctors and Echo found a place to site before diving right into business.

"So, Echo, what problems have you been having since you discharge?" Dr. Kasal asked.

Echo was reluctant to answer but knew she had to.

"I'm in pain all the time, I'm cold, I don't sleep, I hardly eat, and I think my ribs are broken."

Echo said this all in one breath and quietly to boot. If Dr. Kasal hadn't been paying attention, he wouldn't have caught everything. Dr. Kasal carefully took notes on what Echo said.

"You've not had any medications since returning to the orphanage?"

"No."

"Were you able to bring them with you?"

Echo handed Dr. Kasal the two pill bottles.

Several basic questions were asked by Dr. Kasal. Echo answered them bluntly with answers like yes, no, sometimes, two hours. Finally Dr. Kasal decided to get on with the actual examination.

Dr. Kasal left to get his tools, leaving Echo and Marbles alone in the small room. A chill crashed down Echo's spine, making her shudder. When the shudders subsided, Echo's hands moved to resting on her knees and her head drooped. She was exhausted and felt uneasy, nervous over what Dr. Kasal would do to her.

Sensing this, Marbles took one of Echo's hands into his own in attempt to soothe the girl. Marbles was shocked at how frigid her skin was. It was like Echo had held her hands in an arctic snowdrift. When Echo had said that there was no warmth and she was freezing, Marbles had thought Echo had been metaphorically speaking when she said there was no warmth. Now he realized that she had been speaking literally as well.

While the two waited for Dr. Kasal to return, Marbles attempted to bring warmth back into Echo's hand by creating friction with his own hands [1]. Echo's right hand had disappeared into the sleeve of her navy sweater, balled into a fist. A pathetic sigh slipped through Echo's lips.

"It's going to be alright," Marbles said to his young friend.

Echo disagreed as she slowly shook her head no.

It bothered Marbles that Echo seemed so empty of hope and life. She seemed like a shell of her former self.

Dr. Kasal returned then with a stethoscope around his neck, a stack of files in his hands with a sphygmomanometer resting on top of the files.

"Okay Echo, I don't think we need to take any blood at this point." Dr. Kasal said as he sat his things on a small table. "So, I'll start by taking your blood pressure. Why don't you go ahead and take a seat on the exam table then push the sleeve of your sweatshirt up as far as you can."

As Echo did what she was told, Dr. Kasal handed Dr. Marbles one of the thicker files.

"You should probably look over this." Kasal told Marbles.

Dr. Kasal then turned to Echo. He stopped as he saw that Echo's sweatshirt sleeve was pushed up. This would normally not be an unusual thing. However, Echo pushing up her sweater's sleeve revealed a deep brown long sleeved shirt.

"I know you said you were cold but. . . How many layers are you wearing?"

"Four." Echo answered. "Tank top, t-shirt, long sleeved shirt, and sweater."

"Well, that's a problem." said Kasal. "You're going to have to strip down to layer one. Otherwise it may affect your test results."

Echo did not want to undress but grudgingly obliged. When finally down to a tank top, Echo crossed her arms over her chest; trying to hide her most vivid scar.

While Marbles read through Echo's file, starting with the primary report from the EMT's, Dr. Kasal fastened the black cuff of the sphygmomanometer around Echo's right arm. Echo's blood pressure ended up being a bit high, probably due to nerves. Her breathing was fine, letting Dr. Kasal know that Echo's lungs where doing as well as they should be twelve days after her operation.

As Marbles read the first report a pit of dread began to grow within him. Reading the blunt statements of how Echo lost so much blood from vomiting and how her only responses were to pain widened that pit and pulled at his heartstrings. That blunt report was followed by a highly descriptive one, complete with first hand EMT and surgeon reports as well as color photographs.

The EMT report did not come with photographs but was detailed enough. That report was followed by a photograph of Echo's intestines, with the white fibrous worm in clear view. Marbles' stomach churned and his heart dropped as he continued to move on.

Operation 1, Intestines-Lower, GUILT-Paraskevi: was the heading of the first operation report.

With just the first few lines of the operation report Dr. Marbles' the operation report Dr. Marbles' worst fear had been confirmed. Echo had been the emergency patient his father had spoken of. All of his worries had been accurate. And although the report was revolting and saddening, Marbles read on so he would know what happened to Echo in his absence.

After reading through the Paraskevi operation and progressing halfway through the Kyriaki operation, Marbles paused in his readings to watch Dr. Kasal to weigh Echo. There wasn't a doubt in Marbles' mind that Echo had lost weight. His concern was how much she had lost.

It was when Echo got down from the examination table that Marbles caught a glimpse of the bright pink scar on Echo's chest. Marbles then began to fret the possibilities of the circumstance of that scar's creation. Why had she needed her chest cut open during surgery? Or worse, what if it hadn't been a result of surgery?

As Dr. Kasal balanced the scale he frowned and again Marbles' heart plummeted.

"Echo, your average weight was around 95 pounds prior to surgery, correct?" Dr. Kasal asked.

"Y-Yeah…" Echo stuttered.

"This isn't good. You've dropped nearly 23 pounds." Dr. Kasal told her.

Marbles had to make an effort not to release an audible gasp.

"With this turn of events I will need to take a little bit of blood check your iron and potassium levels among other things. We'll do that after the exam. Now, Echo, before you get back on the exam table to lie down, I see that you've got more bruises on your back and shoulders. Are you still getting beaten by the other orphans?"

"Yes."

"Echo, why didn't you come to one of us for help while you were at New Hope?"

"I did." Echo said bitterly.

"Who did you talk to?" Greg asked.

"That blonde nurse… Angie. She laughed it off and tried to tell me the bruises came from the GUILT and that I'd had too much pain medicine." Echo's voice had gone to being bitter to empty.

Dr. Kasal was appalled by the behaviors of Nurse Angie Thompson. She would be severely reprimanded for her actions.

"I'll be having a talk with Nurse Thompson before I report her to the board. Her actions were unacceptable. I'm sorry Echo." Greg apologized.

Echo didn't say anything but crawled back onto the exam table instead. Marbles went back to reading the Kyriaki report while Dr. Kasal went ahead with the physical examination.

"While feeling for abnormalities in Echo's organs, Dr. Kasal checked the healing progress of the incisions.

"Look's like I'll be able to take out the stitches from the incisions over your stomach and lung, but the one over your small intestine seems to be mussing a few stitches."

"They came out when I took a shower." Echo said.

"It's not unusual for that to happen. However, since that incision still has a ways to go, be sure to keep it very clean."

"'Kay." Echo agreed.

Dr. Kasal continued to feel around for any type of inflammation but none. Then his fingers grazed Echo's left ribs.

Dr. Kasal had a split second to narrowly avoid a kick to the head. Immediately following her defense maneuver, Echo kicked herself back away from Dr. Kasal and curled herself back into the fetal position.

Again Echo clamped her eyes shut and locked every muscle. Marbles, who had just reached the start of the final operation, closed the file, set it aside, and approached Echo.

"Her strongest reactions _are_ to pain, aren't they?" Kasal asked.

"I'm afraid so," Marbles confirmed. "Could you tell if her ribs were broken or not?"

"They're not broken, but they are severely fractured. Enough that two need to be realigned."

"How will you manage that if we can't take her off Sensible Flatts?"

"There's only one option. This office was outfitted with a bone aligner. It's primitive compared to today's options, but it's what we've got."

"I hate that's our only option," Marbles sighed. "She's already in a world of pain."

"I know she is. And somehow we need to find a way to keep a supply of medications with her. Echo can't keep going without."

Both doctors looked at the miserable little heap lying before them. After a quiet moment, Dr. Kasal spoke again.

"Can you get her to calm back down and open up again?" he asked Marbles.

"Yes. It may take a few minutes but I'll get her to calm down."

Dr. Kasal stepped back and let Dr. Marbles have full access to Echo.

Marbles put his hand of Echo's shoulder. He noticed how she protectively caged the area of the cracked ribs with her hand the second he touched her. Marbles knew she was waiting for someone else to hit her where she was weak. Obviously Greg hadn't hit her, but Echo had related it to the numerous beatings then acted instinctively.

"Echo, everything's okay. I know you felt like you were getting beaten, but you're not. You're not at the orphanage right now, remember? Echo you know neither Dr. Kasal nor I would intentionally hurt you. So please relax. You can trust us."

It seemed like an eternity Echo was silent. She did not budge or even open her eyes. Dr. Kasal began to think that Marbles had failed in getting Echo to trust him. Just as Dr. Kasal started to give up hope, Echo opened her eyes and looked straight at Marbles. From the look in her eyes, Dr. Kasal realized that Echo had been listening. It had taken a lot of internal struggling for Echo to open her eyes. Now that they were open, it was plain to see that Echo had given every little bit of trust she had to Dr. Marbles.

When Echo had returned to sitting in an upright position she apologized to Dr. Kasal for her behavior.

"No harm done," Dr. Kasal said, forgiving Echo. "Now, let's go ahead and get your blood work done then we'll realign your ribs. Then you'll have the rest of the day to relax."

Solemnly Echo nodded and slid down off the table. She stood straight with her shoulders back. With as much dignity and courage Echo could muster, she followed Dr. Kasal out of the room after giving one long last look to Marbles. It was obvious despite her rally of courage that Echo was scared.

"It'll be okay." Marbles silently mouthed.

Echo's lip quavered but she swallowed and looked away, refusing to let herself cry. Being led into another smaller room, Dr. Kasal had Echo sit in a wooden chair, laying her right arm on the desk palm up. Three inches below her elbow Dr. Kasal tied a tight tourniquet, causing the blood veins to rise. A swab of rubbing alcohol was used to sanitize the area directly below the palm where Dr. Kasal would draw blood from.

"This won't take very long. I only need two little vials full," Dr. Kasal informed Echo.

Echo nodded but bit her lip. Never had she cared for having to have blood drawn. The fact that there would be a sharp needle being thrust through her skin did not set well with her, even if it was for her own well being.

With a 23g blue winged infusion set [2], Dr. Kasal stuck the sharp pointed needle into a blood vein at a shallow angle. He kept the needle in place by firmly pinning down the wings with a thumb. Once the first flash of blood entered the tube to the vacuum vile from the needle, Dr. Kasal continued to draw blood as normal. That same first flash of blood was enough to make Echo squeamish. With a soft moan she tilted her head over the back of the chair so she could stare at the back of her eyelids or the fluorescents instead of the sight of her own blood being sucked out of her.

"It's alright. Just hang in there. You're doing great." Dr. Kasal assured her.

Meanwhile, Marbles neatly folded Echo's three other shirts and took them with him to wait in the lobby for Echo.

". . . and done." Dr. Kasal informed Echo as he sealed up the second vial of her blood. "See, you did just fine."

"Hmph." Echo muttered with some expression that resembled a scowl. She watched Dr. Kasal wrap the puncture wound with layers of pristine white cloth bandage.

"Come on now. Only one thing left to do. I want you to go with the aids and they'll escort you to the room where you'll get your bones realigned. I'll be in shortly after to sedate you. The procedure will only take about fifteen minutes. Then you can redress and leave with Dr. Marbles."

At the mention of Dr. Marbles' name Echo relaxed a smidge. She rose from the chair and followed the aids like Dr. Kasal had asked her to. They led her to a room at the very end of the hall and had her enter first.

When Echo saw the massive piece of machinery Echo hesitated. Her smidgeon of relaxation disappeared. Panic arose within her as she saw the leather straps in strategic places on the hard table beneath the massive monstrosity of metal. Echo didn't want to be here anymore. She wanted to flee back to Dr. Marbles who would protect her from this thing. As she tried to flee Echo found she was barricaded in. The aids blocked the only entryway. One aid picked Echo up and she began to struggle.

"No! Let me go!" Echo cried rather loudly.

Marbles heard Echo from the lobby. He heard the sheer panic in her voice and it began to shatter his resolve. Every instinct told him to rush in there and stop this before it truly started. Sadly, he knew he couldn't do that. This had to be done. Marbles wished he could at least stay in there at her side while she was put through that but even that was impossible. But what could he have done to prepare her for this? Telling her what it would be like would only have scared her worse and increased her struggle. All Marbles could do was sit and wait through the sounds of Echo's struggle and pray the time went by fast.

Two other aids helped the first in subduing Echo. The two helpers earned several kicks to the gut with one very close call to the nether regions. Finally they held her still while a fourth put a dab of chloroform under her nose. It wasn't enough chloroform to knock Echo out, just enough to calm her down enough to get strapped to the table. When she was strapped down a nurse came in and removed the stitches from over the lung and stomach. The nurse left Echo's tank top rolled up. There couldn't be any type of clothing over the area to be treated.

When Dr. Kasal entered the room he immediately could tell that the aids had used chloroform. Out of character for Dr. Kasal, he for once wished the effects of the chloroform would stay intact after the injection of the sedative and magnetizer even though he knew it wouldn't. Why would Dr. Kasal wish this? There was barely enough magnetizer for the procedure and not enough sedative. Even with the proper amount of sedative, having a bone realigned with this machine was a painful ordeal. Now, due to poor stocking on the behalf of the native clinic, Echo would have to be in more pain than necessary.

First Dr. Kasal injected the magnetizer, which would allow the machine to only move the fractured bone. The magnetizer was a dark graphite serum, which resembled a watered down glitter gel pen solution of the same color. When injected the serum slightly stained the veins it travelled through. He gave the magnetizer a minute to disperse so it could fully coat the cracks and fractures in the rib bones. The he injected half a syringe full of the sedative. That was all the sedative they had. For a person Echo's size, the syringe should've been full. Though it would only dull about 2/9ths of the pain a full dose would've, it would be better than having Echo go in with no sedative at all.

When the sedative was dispersed and was doing all that it was going to do, the procedure began. A small arm was lowered from the machine above and sat on the skin above the affected ribs. As it was turned on, the machine slowly began to move the bone, millimeter by millimeter. That was when the screaming truly began. Echo's screams were so chilling they could turn hot water to ice. Listening to these screams mixed with garbled pleas for it to stop was about to drive Marbles to the brink. He could hardly stay in his seat. He didn't know how much more of this he could stand. A nurse walking by at a brisk pace stopped for a second to say,

"Don't worry. Your daughter will be better in no time."

"She isn't my…" Marbles started, but by the time he said "daughter," the nurse was gone.

_My daughter_…

The thought didn't last long as one last piercing screech signaled the end of the bone aligning procedure. Dr. Kasal shooed his aids from the room, telling them that he would get Dr. Marbles when Echo was cleared to leave. Echo's vitals stabilized soon after and she was ready to leave by the procedural standards. However, Dr. Kasal knew that Echo wasn't ready to leave yet. She wouldn't even be able to stand up at this point. The best thing was to let her lay there and regain herself while Dr. Kasal talked to Dr. Marbles.

Marbles was eager to see Dr. Kasal enter the lobby though he was more eager to hear some good news.

"The procedure is done; her bones are perfectly in place. However…"

"However what, Greg?" Marbles said. He didn't like where this was going.

"This unit was ill-stocked. There wasn't enough sedative. But had we aborted this procedure today, her ribs would have set wrong and would have had to be re-broken down the line. So we had to do it. Echo's vitals are fine; she's just extremely shaken up. You're going to have to watch her and give her a hand for the next couple hours at least. Usually I wouldn't let her do this but give her one of her normal pain pills in about twenty minutes and another one this evening. I doubt she'll want to eat anything else tonight. I would've helped her to get up but I don't think she would've taken that well. She'll let you help her more since she trusts you. I'm sorry it had to go this way Marbles."

"As am I, but it wasn't your fault Greg. You didn't know the place was under-stocked. All that really matters is that Echo will be okay. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go help her. Thank you for your time."

Marbles found Echo still strapped to the table, strands of her hair matted to her face by sweat. Her face was nearly as red as her hair from screaming so hard and streaked by tears that were still coming. She stared straight at the ceiling, though Marbles could tell she really wasn't seeing anything in focus. She was in too much pain.

"Echo," Marbles called to her as he brushed a strand of hair out of her face. Echo jerked at his touch, but didn't do anything else when she saw that it was him. "I'm going to un strap you, okay?"

One strap at a time Marbles set Echo free. Each leather strap from each ankle, shin, and thigh were unhooked. Then the ones over her hips and waist, as well as the ones around her wrists, forearms, and in the middle of her elbow and shoulders. When every strap had been undone, Echo rolled onto her right side, putting no pressure onto her left. When she went to sit up she faced problems, and had to sit up while holding on to Marbles' arms to keep from falling over. Once Echo was sitting up on her own, Marbles helped to redress her. He layered the t-shirt over the tank top followed by the brown long sleeved shirt followed by the navy sweatshirt, just as she had done before.

After a time Marbles realized Echo was trying to figure how to get down off the table without falling down. Being extremely cautious of Echo's tender ribcage, he slipped an arm under hers and lifted her down to the floor. Echo refused to move until she got her footing but when she did she was ready to get out of that doctor's office.

Echo figured that Marbles was going to take her back to the orphanage right away but he didn't. In fact, he led her in the opposite direction to the outskirts of town.

"Where are we going?" Echo asked.

"I thought you'd like a warm place to rest for a while. I still don't have to take you back for a few hours. Unless you want to go back?"

"No, that's okay." Echo assured him.

Echo had never seen a cybercoop before and thus was unsure of what to think of Marbles'. Marbles helped Echo slide into the seat and got in right after her. It was nice and toasty in the cabin beneath the glass dome. The heat felt blissful to Echo. Sitting back against the red cushioned seat, Echo let her eyes close and the heat absorb into her skin.

"It's so nice and warm in here." Echo said.

"I figured you'd like it. Now, I know that Dr. Kasal has already asked you plenty of questions, but I still have a few that have been left unanswered."

"Like what?" Echo asked warily.

"How did you even come into contact with the GUILT?"

"There were these researchers operating illegally in the abandoned sewage system. It was my job to drive them out of there. As I was flushing out the last one he dropped three Petri dishes. They shattered and I breathed in the toxins which happened to be the GUILT."

"I see…" Marbles said. "I'm sure this is going to be painful for you to talk about, but how have you been getting beaten? You're still in solitary."

"The day I came back, Truehart put me in the lobby to "keep me active." I got beaten up that day pretty bad and the next day too. The third day I gave up and refused to get out of bed."

Echo grew quiet as she thought about every beating and attack she had endured since day one. It was useless to her to even try to stay strong anymore. It just led to more pain and to be frank, Echo was sick of the pain.

"I don't see the point anymore." Echo said.

"The point of what?"

"Of trying to keep fighting this. Any attempt to be myself just isn't worth the pain. I don't want to do it anymore."

"Echo, I know it's painful now but eventually the pain will subside. Never give up who you are. You're individuality should be your most treasured asset. You've made it this far. You are a survivor."

As much as Echo wanted to cling to those words, she couldn't. She shook her head. "No I'm not."

"Yes you are, Echo. You survived that operation which was no easy feat."

"Well… Well maybe they should've never even attempted to resuscitate me!" Echo said. It was difficult to tell which emotion she was feeling the most. So many were thrashing about within her.

"Echo! Don't ever say something like that!" Marbles said strictly.

Echo recoiled. She had never seen Marbles that strict. Marbles instantly knew he had scared Echo by his reaction and felt awful about it. In a softer, kinder tone, he said,

"I'm sorry. Do not feel frightened. Please, tell me what you meant by that."

Echo realized that Dr. Greg hadn't told him that she had flat lined during her operation. She began to explain.

"Near the end of my surgery… I flat lined for several moments. My heart stopped beating and I was finally free. Free of all the pain, the weights on my shoulders, the chains binding me to this pain filled world. I was finally in peace. I was free from all of it! But they brought me back! They threw all of that weight and more back on me when they used that damned defibrillator on me! Apparently it was on the last try that they got my heart to start again. I was at the very edge of freedom…. I guess I'll never be able to touch it."

Marbles was thoroughly in shock. Words evaded him and he felt unbelievably guilty. All he could say was "Oh Echo…"

Echo's eyes darkened as she tried to find some way to lock up the rest of her pain. She still did not like to be touched. So she tensed some when Marbles hugged her again, but tolerated it.

"I wouldn't have even mattered if I died. Nothing's left for me. Nobody would have really cared if I was gone."

"Now that's not true. I care and so does Ada. I would miss you severely if you were gone."

"Really?"

"Absolutely! Don't give up on yourself. Remember: you're alive. That means you have infinite potential. You can do anything, make anything, dream anything [3]."

Echo took those words to heart. The warmth she had found when she first crawled into the coop was gone and the chills returned. Not quite releasing Echo from the hug, Marbles reached behind the seat and grabbed the brown carhart coat he kept for when he was in colder climates and wrapped it around her. Marbles then turned the heat on to low to speed up the reheating process for Echo.

Feeling the heat caress her skin Echo pulled out of the hug to face the air vents.

"Thank you." Echo said, pulling the coat tighter around her body.

"You're welcome. Here, you need to take one of your pain pills." Marbles handed Echo a bottle of water and a pain pill which she took without problem.

Giving the water bottle back to Marbles, Echo leaned her head back against the seat and let her eyes drift shut. She was sleepy though she was still thinking about what Marbles had told her. Eventually the sleepy part of her began to dominate as she started to doze off, her head lolling to the side. She was too tired to fight it when Marbles pulled her down to lie on her side with her head resting on his thigh. For once Echo went with the flow and just relaxed. Just before she completely fell asleep she said,

"When we get back to the orphanage, will you help me get rid of something? I don't care what you do with it; I just want you to keep it away from me."

"Of course; we'll handle that when it's time. Now you should rest. Don't worry about anything else."

It didn't take long for Echo to fall asleep. Watching Echo sleep, Marbles saw the shadows beneath her eyes begin to fade and a soft rose color return to her cheeks. The look was considerably healthier than when he'd first seen her this morning. He couldn't help but feel that this was entirely his fault. He had left her alone while he went on vacation. He hadn't done anything to get her help when she was first getting beaten. He had let it come to this before getting her help. In Marbles' eyes, he was the guilty party.

"I'm so sorry Echo." Marbles whispered to her sleeping form. "Somehow I'm going to make this right."

While trying to think of a solution for this predicament, Marbles thought back to the feelings he experienced while he was in the waiting room. It was then he realized the solution had been in front of his nose the whole time. Marbles wanted to tell Echo immediately of his plan but did not as he wanted her to get as much rest as she could. If Echo awoke before they had to go back he would tell her. If she slept the whole time Marbles would write a letter telling of his intentions to give to her. As the time passed it became clear that he would have to write the letter. As carefully as he could without disturbing the sleeping girl, Marbles reached to the glove box and retrieved an ink pen and a legal pad. He wrote the letter while listening to the soft breathing coming from Echo. He finished it just in time to fold the finished letter and stick it in his jacket pocket before having to wake Echo.

"Echo, time to wake up. It's time for us to head back." Marbles said as he gently nudged her shoulder.

"Okay…" Echo said groggily as she sat up, the coat falling off her shoulders. After rubbing her eyes she crawled out of the cybercoop after Marbles, stretching her legs as she stood.

"Here, Echo, this is a week's worth of your medicine." Marbles said as he placed a small round pill matrix in the palm of Echo's hand. The matrix had two compartments with the pain pills in one and the antibiotics in the other. "That matrix should be easy enough to hide so Truehart can't take it."

Echo nodded and pocketed the matrix, covering the pocket with her sweatshirt. As they walked back to town Echo told Marbles,

"That was the best sleep I've gotten in a long time."

"Good. You needed it."

When they finally started to approach the orphanage, Echo's heart dropped.

"I hate it here," Echo whined as they approached the orphanage steps.

It was the first time Marbles had heard Echo flat out complain about the orphanage. It broke his heart so much knowing that he couldn't just then take her home with him and protect her from having to endure this kind of hell ever again.

"I know, sweetie. I know." It took everything Marbles had to keep his own voice from cracking.

Inside they were both confronted by Abigail Truehart who coaxed the pills out of Marbles' pocket. Thankfully she did not think to check Echo's pockets. When Marbles and Echo had finally gotten away from Truehart, they slipped back into Echo's cell.

"So, what is it you want me to get rid of for you?" he asked Echo.

Echo went into the bathroom and pulled a drawstring bag from the cabinet beneath the sink. It was the same bag that had been given to her while she was at New Hope. The bag had the New Hope Hospital crest on it. Without a word Echo handed it to Marbles. Marbles was surprised by the weight of the little bag.

"What's in here, Echo?"

A distressed look crossed Echo's face and she sat down on her bed.

"Just see for yourself." She said quietly, fearing Marbles reaction.

Marbles opened the bag to first see one thin piece of paper folded into thirds and another, thicker set of papers folded the same. Then beneath those papers was a long, thick coil of knotted rope. The morbidity of the object scared Marbles to death. Especially because it had been in Echo's hands.

"Echo! Please don't tell me you were seriously considering this!"

Tears formed in Echo's eyes and she looked away. Marbles sat down beside her and gathered her into his arms.

"When were you going to…?" Marbles couldn't even bring himself to finish the question.

"Tonight, when the sun went down." Echo answered before she began to sob.

Marbles looked down and sure enough on the outside of the top note was marked with the current day's date.

"But I don't wanna go through with it anymore! I want to keep going. Until you came back I didn't have any hope… I'm just so scared of this constant darkness!"

"It's okay. Just let it go." Marbles soothed as he let Echo cry herself out.

Marbles didn't keep a good track on time as Echo cried, but eventually the sobs began to subside into sniffles which led straight into soft snores. Echo had cried herself to sleep. Carefully Marbles wiped away the last of the tears before laying Echo down on the bed. He slipped her sneakers off of her feet then covered her with her quilts. When Marbles decided things were in enough order, he closed the drawstring bag and went to leave. Just as he was about to walk out the door he remembered the note and left it on the table.

He was surprised that Abigail hadn't stopped him on his way out. It appeared she wasn't even at the orphanage at all. Marbles didn't really care one way or another. He knew she didn't give a damn about her job. Marbles had his mind set as he entered the courthouse.

Before Marbles could even utter a word, Judge Trudy said,

"I have a feeling I already know why you're here."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Once in a while, Abigail Truehart liked to ditch her duties at the orphanage for a night on the town. She had done her nails, make up, and even bought a new dress for this night. The dress was a soft ivory with a pale pink ribbon that tied into a large bow right above her derriere. A matching pink lace choker was tied around her neck. On her way into the main part of town, Abigail passed by the back entrance of the Front Porch. Martha had just opened the door to toss out the rotting scraps of the past couple days when Abigail passed by.

Martha detested Abigail, especially with what the woman did to the orphans. Her anger powered the slinging of the bucket a little more than it should've, and the contents of a three gallon bucket of scraps flew straight at Abigail.

With the most sickening of sounds the scraps hit the ground at the compost heap, as well as Abigail. The majority of the scraps had been rotting tomatoes which immediately stained Abigail's precious new dress. At first Abigail was in shock. That shock quickly changed into fury.

"What in the hell is wrong with you!?" Abigail screeched. "This is a brand new dress!"

Abigail took a step towards Martha but slipped in the remains of the slop. Falling straight on her butt, a good portion of the back of her dress was now stained with red and contaminated with a horrid stench. As Abigail landed a nearly whole tomato flew up from being landed on and landed straight in her face which left a trail as it slid down into her bosom.

When Abigail had just regained her footing, she was prepared to give Martha hell. However, just as Abigail opened her mouth, she heard,

"Say cheese!"

The flash powder went of the moment Abigail saw the local newspaper reporter.

"This is gold!" The reporter exclaimed.

"I'll say." Martha agreed with a smirk.

With a guttural growl Abigail stalked off, her night ruined. She had no choice but to return to the orphanage and scrub herself free of the filth. As she showered she thought she could have one last chance at salvaging her night. She hadn't remembered Dr. Marbles leaving. He could still be here with the little brat. Dressing in a silk nightie and matching robe, Abigail sashayed her way to Echo's cell. To her disappointment Marbles was gone and the kid was asleep. However, there was a letter on the table. It was from Marbles to Echo.

Abigail did not like what she was reading. She held on to the letter and hurried to her office. There she picked up the receiver and dialed a number.

"Solomon Quinn!" Abigail hissed. "You better hurry your hide and take care of this brat! I do NOT want her ruining things for me again!"

[1] I just wanted to make this clear because I'm not sure if it makes complete sense. What Marbles is doing here is rubbing his hands around Echo's to warm her fingers up.

[2] 23g blue winged infusion set: This is a typical butterfly needle used by doctors. 23g is the middle sized needle of the three used.

[3] "You're alive. That means you have infinite potential. You can do anything, make anything, dream anything." This is a quote I found on "To Write Love on Her Arms" Facebook page.


	11. Catfight!

**A/N: Okay! Chapter 11! This took me a lot longer than I thought it would. I had a couple bad bouts of writer's block while writing this one. Echo got mad at me several times and played hide and go seek with my plot. You'll see one of the reasons in chapter twelve. After a month of waiting, without further ado, here's chapter 11. Read, Review, Enjoy. ~Kawaii Stella**

Picking Up the Broken Glass

Kawaii Stella

Chapter Eleven

Catfight!

Judge Trudy had a good idea why Dr. Marbles was coming into the courthouse. Trudy knew that Marbles cared about her little assistant and had visited her every Sunday since that first time when Marbles had come looking to return a sketchbook.

That little girl was sweet and bright and was subject to hell at that orphanage, which was the reason Trudy had hired her. If her hunch was on the dot, Trudy would lose a good helper, though it would be for the best. Dr. Marbles was the best thing to happen to Echo since her arrival.

Dr. Marbles entered the courtroom and made his way towards Trudy's desk. The emotional strain was clear to see on the doctor's face. He had been through a very long day. However, despite the exhaustion, there was an air of fierce determination about him.

"I have a feeling I already know why you're here." Trudy said.

"I want to adopt Echo." Marbles declared.

"That's what I thought." Trudy said. She went over to a rather large filing cabinet and from the third of five drawers removed a thick manila folder.

"These," Trudy said as she laid the file on the desk. "are all of the files we have on her plus the adoption forms. The forms will take some time to fill out and then there will be a wait period as the paper work gets processed."

"How long will that take?" Marbles asked.

"Not too long. Just a few days."

"I see. Judge Trudy, that hasn't been the first time something like this has happened, has it?"

"I reckon not. Those orphanage people have always been shady. Even Granny Opal suspected as much during her time as judge. Anything wrong that goes on over there is done so they can't catch the blame. Its obvious bad things happen over there, but things are kept so spotless it's impossible to find a snag in their story. There are missing files, but the cases to track 'em down have gone cold. I hate to imagine what really has gone on in that place."

Marbles wanted to wince at the thought of all the abuse that had terrorized the orphans since Opal's time. Opal had been Trudy and Judy's grandmother. Along with her sister Pearl, Opal had raised Trudy and Judy when their parents perished.

"If it's anything like the hell Echo's been through… those tales will be macabre." Marbles said.

Truly there was nothing left to be said. With solemn farewells Marbles left the courthouse and returned to his cybercoop. He sat in the cockpit a moment, holding his winter coat in his hands. He wondered how he could've been so blind to the obvious solution in front of him He would start the paperwork the moment he returned to Control Central. He would need to inform Ada of his decision as well. Lifting off from Sensible Flats, Marbles travelled the familiar path home, ready to change things for the better.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

In a secluded, overly posh private office, Solomon Quinn sat in an overstuffed brown leather chair. Everything in the office was of the highest quality, paid for with an endless supply of money. Dressed in a designer business suit, with his hair perfectly coifed, Quinn heard the faint whir of his fax machine heating up.

Quinn had just gotten off the phone with Abigail Truehart. She wanted him to take care of her problem causing orphan, Echo Glasgow. Abigail had made a convincing point: if he adopted the girl, he'd be a selfless humanitarian. Business would skyrocket and revenue would grow exponentially. But that wouldn't be the only benefit of adopting girl.

The fax machine continued to spit out sheet after sheet. When the machine finished its duty, Solomon pulled the top sheet from the tray and looked at the photograph. Echo Glasgow was not a bad looking girl. He knew that much from his visits with her. He also knew she'd be a slight challenge. At each of his visits, Solomon could sense a spirit of defiance in her. But he could get rid of that soon enough. Once he had Echo to himself she would be under his absolute control. He could make her do whatever he pleased. The thoughts of the endless possibilities of what he could do with Echo brought a grin to his face. Solomon couldn't resist the excitement of his new toy.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Ada arrived at Marbles' housing sector around seven p.m. It had been planned well in advance that the two would have dinner to celebrate their return from vacation. To Ada's surprise, Marbles did not greet her at the door like he normally did. This caused her to believe that Marbles was still cooking. However, when Ada looked in the kitchen, Marbles was nowhere to be found. The kitchen was spotless, with not even a pot or plate out to five proof of dinner being made. After a bit of searching, Ada found Marbles in his study.

Marbles sat at his desk, propping up his head in his hands. His eyes were closed, but had they been open, they would be staring straight at a thick manila file folder. The look across his face showcased anguish, sorrow, and regret.

"Marbles?" Ada called at a whisper.

"I never should have left. That vacation was the worst decision of my life."

Ada's heart sank. She knew instantly that this revolved around Echo. Ada hadn't been around Echo nearly as much as Marbles had, but she still cared about the girl. Echo was easy to grow attached to.

"What's happened?" Ada asked. Telling from the look in Marbles' eyes, she knew she was not going to like w hat she was about to hear.

"I thought she was doing better when we left. I really did. But when I got back, it was absolutely different. At first she wouldn't even let me get near her. All of the pain and fear clouded her mind so badly she didn't even remember me. My hunch was right… it was Echo who was taken to New Hope. She was in a bad state. She still is. And it's all my fault!"

"Marbles, you can't pin this all on yourself!" Ada tried to convince him.

"Believe me, Ada, I can." Marbles said. "You don't understand what these past two weeks have forced her through."

From there, Marbles launched into a descriptive account telling of Echo's misfortunes.

Marbles told Ada it _had_ been Echo that his father had spoken of, that the disease was known as GUILT, and that Echo had horrendously contracted three strains. Ada listened to how each strain had harmed Echo. A flash of anger went through Ada at Abigail Truehart and the other orphans for not helping Echo. They continued to go after the poor child even when she was at her weakest point. Ada paled at the thought of all the pain Echo had to have felt as her bones were realigned.

"At least nothing bad happened during the operation," Ada said, trying desperately to find a positive point.

"Sadly that's not true." Marbles said. "She flat lined at the very end of her operation. Echo wasn't very happy they brought her back."

"But she's alive! That alone should…"

"Think about it, Ada. She's been in pain for so long now. More pain now than before. That pain has taken a toll on her. Echo even said as much."

"It sounds like she doesn't have much hope left."

"She didn't. By the time I got there she was nearly completely devoid of hope. I almost didn't realize how close I was losing her. Out of everything I said to her today, I don't know what she took to heart…but I'm glad she grabbed onto something to pull her out of that abyss. It made her rethink her plan."

"What was her plan, Marbles?"

From the floor, resting against the back of the mahogany desk, Marbles picked up the little drawstring bag, handing it to Ada. Ada gave Marbles an odd look before opening the bag. Removing the papers, Ada saw the bundle of rope. In a split second she could tell what the rope was twisted into."

"She planned on committing suicide!?"

"If she hadn't found the light that convinced her to back out of her plan, Echo would be either dead or dying at this very moment."

"How? How could she get that desperate? She still had so much life in her when I met her!"

"She's been broken in every way possible. She wanted an escape. That's the only way I can fathom it."

Both Ada and Marbles were silent as they attempted to determine where this whirlwind rollercoaster of a conversation had left them. Ada's thoughts finally made their way back to the thick folder in front of Marbles. As Marbles saw Ada's eyes linger on the folder, he knew it was time for him to reign in his thoughts and get to the point.

"Ada, I never want Echo to have to endure this kind of hell ever again. Her current environment is killing her. I hate seeing her so lifeless and hurt. It's painful to watch… I guess what I'm trying to say is: I'm adopting Echo. I hope you'll support me in my decision."

"I think I should've seen this coming. In retrospect I'm surprised you've not already adopted her. I don't really see a problem with us starting a family early. Echo deserves a family who will love and cherish her. With us, she'll get all that and more. I'm behind you one hundred percent in this."

"Thank you, Ada. This really does mean a lot to me."

"I know it does. And the sooner we get the paperwork done, the sooner we can bring her home. Oh, we'll have so much to do! We'll have to get a room set up for her then decorate it and…"

"Slow down, love! One step at a time. Let's focus on getting the paperwork done. _Then_ we'll start decorating."

"Then let's start." Ada said as she pulled up a seat next to Marbles.

"The first chunk of papers is Echo's background and health history." Marbles said while opening the file.

"Why is that included?" Ada asked.

"So we would have an idea of what we're getting into. I guess any type of health or behavioral disorder could break the deal for perspective parents."

"I can't deny that that happens but it's still sad."

"It is sad, but not as sad as the situation Echo is in. Hmm… there is a lot of paperwork to fill out."

For several hours they completed page after page of the adoption paperwork. When the clock chimed midnight, both knew they should put down their pens and wait to continue filling out forms the next day.

"I best be getting home how, it's getting late. We got through a little over a third of the papers. We'll finish tomorrow."

"It is rather late, why won't you just stay here with me tonight?"

"Sorry dear, I can't. I have things to take care of at home."

Marbles sighed. "Very well. At least let me open a portal for you."

Marbles let Ada to the door and opened a window portal {1) for her. Before she stepped thought the portal, Ada asked one final question.

"I've been wondering this for some time now. What made the idea of adopting Echo pop into your head?"

At this Marbles appeared a little sheepish.

"It was while Echo was having her ribs realigned." He said. "I was sitting in the waiting room, listening to her screams. It was unbearable. I couldn't take it. Then a nurse walked by, she was in her upper sixties. She saw how distraught I was and told me not to worry, that my daughter would be fine."

"So that's how it happened. I can picture it. You care so much for her that you already fit into the fatherly profile. One of your many qualities."

Marbles blushed. "Ada… I'm so glad you understand me on this. I love you so much."

"I love you too. I better go. You need to be going to bed yourself. It's back to work tomorrow."

"I know. I doubt it'll be a challenge though. Motherboard's system has been doing well as of late."

"I hope for your sake that you've not just jinxed yourself."

At this Marbles chuckled. He had respect for the higher powers but was not overly superstitious. The couple said their final goodnights and Ada stepped through the portal to her home. After the portal closed behind Ada, Marbles went back into the main part of his housing sector.

Marbles resided in the larger of the two housing sectors at Control Central. His family had always inhabited that sector because of how many of them there were. It was rather empty now that Marbles had taken over for his father. With his father now living full time in their homeland, Marbles' brothers and sisters didn't come around Control Central as much.

With so much room, there would be plenty of room for Echo. One of the spare rooms could be made into an art studio if Echo wanted. Marbles was positive she'd like that. Ada had had a point when she talked about setting up a room for Echo. But before a room could be decorated one had to be chosen. Marbles knew just the one.

Just four rooms away from his own was a good sized room with a private bath. Marbles wanted to keep Echo in close proximity to him, but she was a teenager, and if Marbles' teenaged sisters were of any indication, she would want some space. This room made for a good compromise.

Looking around the room, Marbles just knew it would be perfect. He could see Echo lounging in the window seat or curled up with a book on her bed. Marbles could already imagine how Echo would put her mark on the room with her amazing creativity.

Smiling to himself, Marbles began to feel more and more excited about becoming a father. He wished he could have seen Echo's face when she read his letter. Her life had been hell for too long. Now it would be better. As much as Marbles would have liked to stay in that room and daydream about how things would be once Echo arrived, he knew if he wanted to quickly finish his duties the next day, he'd need to rest.

By the time he was ready for bed, sleep was calling for him. It had been a long and exhausting day. Within moments of closing his eyes, Marbles was soundly sleeping with dreams quickly approaching. This dream was strange, the colors were muted, not quite black and white.

In this dream, Marbles found himself back at the Sensible Flats orphanage. His mood lifted as he walked down the now familiar corridor to Echo's cell. As he entered the cell, Marbles was surprised to not see Echo anywhere in the room. Marbles then noticed that the bathroom door was open a bit. From the bathroom came a chilling breeze and this dream quickly transformed into a nightmare.

Marbles slowly entered the bathroom, coming face to face with a horrid sight. A rope had been tied to the metal shower rod. The end of the rope was snugly wrapped around Echo's neck. Her body slowly rocked in the wind. Her green eyes were frozen open in death, as was her mouth. It was the look of the final struggle.

In desperation Marbles grabbed Echo's wrist, trying to find a trace of a pulse. However her skin was cold. As Marbles held Echo's little hand and looked into her lifeless eyes the visions began.

In a sepia tone Marbles saw Echo vomit a fountain of blood and collapse onto the cold concrete floor. From Echo's labored breathing the scene flashed forward to the operating room.

Marbles saw the damage that the Paraskevi left in defiance. He saw the Kyriaki shred Echo's lung apart. When all seemed calm, Echo bolted awake.

_"Nooooo!" _

Her scream was haunting. It sent a wave of arctic chills crashing down Marbles' spine. Once again, in a flash of white, the scene jumped ahead. Echo's chest was wide open. Just a moment later her heart shuddered to a stop, accompanied by the shrill whine of the monitors. In horror Marbles watched as the defibrillator was brought out. Echo shock made Echo's body violently convulse. Then everything went white again as Echo came back to life. The next thing Marbles knew, he was back in the bathroom but Echo was no longer hanging there from the shower. Instead she was balanced atop the rectangular shower door track. She was tying the rope securely to the track.

_"Echo, no! Please don't do this! You said you didn't want to go through with this! Please don't end your life like this!" _Marbles yelled. But his voice was silenced.

Flash.

Echo slipped the noose around her neck and tightened it.

Flash.

Standing perfectly straight, Echo mouthed the word "freedom." Then she jumped down off the bar.

Flash.

Echo did not weigh enough for her neck to be broken on impact. Echo was slowly going to suffocate.

Flash.

Panic began to set in as she began to lose oxygen. Echo clawed at the rope in attempt to save herself. Echo's struggle was futile.

One last flash left Echo at the end of her struggle. With a final wheeze of an attempt at a last breath, Echo went still.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"NO!" Marbles gasped as he bolted upright in his bed. "Oh God, Echo, no."

After taking a moment, or five, to compose himself, Marbles realized that he had just been victim to a terrible nightmare.

"It was just a dream." He told himself. "There's no way she can kill herself. I have the noose."

Despite knowing this, Marbles was still shaken up. He needed a way to know Echo was alright and still alive. Marbles soon realized he had the perfect tool at his disposal. The CS-219 CyberSatellite.

The CS-219 was the sleekest and most advanced CyberSatellite in all of Cyberspace. Its general purpose was satellite imagery. But it could do much more than that. Dr. Marbles would know, he designed and programmed it. As Marbles had finished programming the satellite, he leaned back in his chair and said,

"Eat your heart out Google."

Marbles knew all of the satellite's tricks. He knew how to silently get into the system and control it manually. This was how he would check up on Echo. Snatching his glasses from their resting place on the nightstand, Marbles got out of bed and made his way over to the small desk where his laptop sat. Powering on the powerful little machine, Marbles plugged in his password and got straight to work. Using an untraceable private route, Marbles accessed the satellite's database and controls. He set the satellite to focus its imagery sensors on the Sensible Flats orphanage, more specifically, Echo's cell. Tweaking a few settings and adjusting the camera angles gave Marbles a live feed looking into Echo's cell.

To his relief, Echo was sitting in the center of her bed wide awake. The fears of Echo somehow finding another way to kill herself were diminished. Marbles was a bit disappointed that Echo was awake at this late, rather early, hour. Marbles could clearly see the weary expression on her face. She was tired, but sleep was not her friend. Just was Marbles was about to return the satellite to its normal settings, Echo turned and looked out the window directly into the sky. It was as if somehow Echo knew Marbles was watching her. Through the medium of the camera lens, brown eyes locked with green.

After a brief moment of an unexplainable and indescribable moment of connection, Echo looked away, breaking the magic of the spell. As Echo eased herself onto her pillow, Marbles knew that he too should be returning to bed. He reset the satellite and switched off the computer before crawling back beneath the covers. With the reassurance that Echo was fine and still very much alive, Marbles tried to get as much sleep as he possibly could at this point.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Echo had finally begun to let some of her pain show. She had admitted that she was afraid of the darkness she found herself in. Her outcry was not lost in the thin air. It had reached the ears of someone who cared about her. Dr. Marbles had listened to her and even gave her a bit of hope, enough to realize that she didn't want to end her life in such a desperate manner. He had held her while she cried out in a strangled mix of emotion. Sadness, fear, frustration, and desperation woven together created her tears. Crying until she could cry no more, Echo fell asleep.

For a while her dreams were quiet; not happy, but not harmful. It was if something was guarding her from the normal slew of wrenching nightmares. Whatever was protecting Echo soon disappeared, and her worst subconscious enemy, the grey fog, returned. The fog consumed Echo completely, taking her to a very dark place splattered with blood. This place was disturbing. Several horror movies combined could not compare.

Echo was trapped in this disturbed realm. She found herself surrounded by her enemies both current and out of the past. They wanted her in fear, desperation, and pain. It was not hard for Echo's enemies to push her to those points. Just as Echo thought she was forever trapped in this place, she saw a dim gleam of light in the distance. It was her ticket out.

Echo woke with a start, jolting upright in bed. The sudden movement sparked a fine of pain in her side.

"Ah-ah! Owwwwww….!" Echo hissed as she probed her fingers around her ribs. The pain pills had definitely worn off. It took her a moment to remember that she had cried herself to sleep in Marbles' arms. Echo realized that Marbles must have taken off her shoes and covered her in the quilts. That touched Echo. She was not very used to being taken care of. Her sentiments were cut short by the raging pain across her torso. Slowly, _very_ _slowly_, she rose out of bed and baby stepped her way into the bathroom. She fished the pill matrix out of her pocket and stuck a pill in her mouth before flushing it down with water from the tap.

Curious to see the aftermath from the bone aligner, Echo lifted up all four shirts. She shouldn't have been shocked by what she saw, but she was. More so by the darkly stained blood vessels than by the bruise. Just looking at that area caused pain. Echo didn't want to think about what she had been through today anymore. Echo went back to bed, sitting square in the middle. She pulled her knees up, but realized it wouldn't work because it caused her chest to hurt. Echo settled with crossing her legs Indian style while resting her hands in her lap.

For a while Echo tried to void her mind of thought. At first it worked, but eventually several tiny thoughts popped into her head and Echo gave up trying to empty her mind. After a while Echo began to get a feeling, one she was not used to. It felt like she was being watched after. Not in a creepy way, but rather protectively. Echo turned and looked out of the little barred window and began to notice that there were actually stars in the Cyberspacian night sky. The fact was kind of soothing.

There was this one star that seemed to shine brighter than the rest. This star was spellbinding. It was so beautiful and breathtaking. Echo couldn't help but lock her eyes on it. She sat there and watched this mysterious star for a while. Eventually she broke her gaze away from the star and laid back down, wrapping a quilt around her. Sleep would be sketchy until dawn.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

The sleep Marbles had gotten since returning to bed had been restless. In the midst of slumber he had been tossing and turning. Just as it seemed he would get a little bit of peaceful sleep, the alert system went off.

Jolting upright, Marbles instinctively grabbed his glasses and shoved them onto his face. Flinging the covers aside, he bolted from his room straight to the Remote Access Control room. The RAC was the way Marbles could evaluate and get into Motherboard's system from his own home. Upon entering the RAC, Marbles found that he had, in fact, jinxed himself.

Multiple error lights were lit up across the board. Malfunctioning circuits and conduction coils as well as overheating panels, failing fans, and failing cooling pipes. It was painfully clear that Motherboard's system had taken a quick turn for the worst. On any other day Marbles would start tackling these problems without complaint. He loved his job, but today was different. He knew he needed to be with Echo.

"This is going to be a nightmare to fix!" Marbles moaned.

Still clad in his pajamas, Marbles hurriedly switched the coolant flow from the failing pipes to the auxiliary ones. The overheated panels immediately began to cool to a safer temperature. Back up circuits were activated to temporarily remedy the malfunctioning ones. Motherboard's system had already gone into a protective hibernation. Things would hold steady for a while now. Marbles would have just enough time to shower and dress before grabbing his tools and tackling each and every problem.

By nine a.m. Marbles had replaced eight conduction coils and two panels that had been warped by excessive heat. He had also made note of which circuit boards needed repair or replaced. The circuit boards would be taken care of as he went along. At exactly nine eleven Marbles' cell phone rang. One of his favorite pictures of Ada filled the screen with her name and number at the bottom. Marbles tapped the green button on the screen to answer the call.

"Yes?" Marbles answered gruffly.

"Well! That's a fine way to answer a phone call from your girlfriend!" Ada huffed, quite displeased with Marbles' tone of voice.

"I'm sorry Ada," Marbles apologized. "Let me start again. Good morning."

"It doesn't sound like it's a good morning for you. Aren't you at the orphanage with Echo?"

"No. I'm beneath Motherboard's mainframe. I jinxed myself. Everything is malfunctioning! I've been working since four a.m. and there's still so much left to do! Motherboard's in hibernation… I'm going to be at this all day! There's no way I'm going to get to see Echo today…"

It was obvious to Ada how upset Marbles was about this. He was extremely worried about Echo. After what had transpired yesterday so was she. Echo needed care, not the torture she received at that orphanage.

"Well, why don't I go spend the day with her?"

"You'd do that?"

"Of course. Echo is going to be a part of this family. I need to get to know her better. Aside from what you've told me, I hardly know her at all."

"Ada, thank you! I know Echo will warm right up to you. Have I ever told you that you are amazing?"

"I could stand to hear it more often." Ada teased.

At this Marbles smiled. Ada never failed to lift his spirit.

"I better go on to the orphanage. I don't want to let anything else bad happen to her."

"Good thinking," Marbles agreed before Ada ended the call, preparing to set out to the orphanage.

Abigail Truehart had already started her day by nine in the morning. The cable box attached to her television set had "broke", resulting in the visit of two rather cute repair men. By the time the two fellows left, Abigail had convinced herself that at least one of the two would come back to ask her out on a date. She had only glanced in on the children once, not really caring what they were up to. Eventually Abigail got around to swapping out the old flowers on the front desk with fresh ones. That was when _she_ walked in.

She was of average height, with an undeniably beautiful figure. Upon that figure was a light grey pencil skirt which came right above her knees with a pale sunshine yellow blouse. The blouse had poufy sleeves and slight ruffles along the buttons. Her hair was formed in a simple bun, with a few wavy strands framing her slender face and meadow green eyes. Abigail stifled a growl. It was Ada Lovelace, the very same woman who had taken her precious Dr. Marbles away from her.

"Well what a surprise!" Abigail said in a cheerfully false tone. "What brings you here?"

"I'm here to spend the day with Echo. Marbles is busy with work today otherwise he'd be here as well."

"I see." Abigail said. "Well, you should know that she is a dangerous child, so proceed at your own risk. Also, do _not_ feed her, whatever you do. She is under a strict restricted diet."

"I see," Ada said, doubtful of Abigail's words. "I really don't think that sweet girl poses a threat to anyone. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check on her."

Ada came to Echo's cell and discovered how tiny it was. Echo was in the corner of her bed, head down with her arms crossed over her chest. Echo heard the door open and looked up, surprised to see Ada there instead of Dr. Marbles.

"Good morning, Echo." Ada said with a smile.

"'Morning." Echo said weakly.

Ada noticed the lack of strength in Echo and realized how pale she was.

"Did you have breakfast this morning?"

"Nope."

Ada knew something wasn't right. Even on a restricted diet, Echo should've had at least some sort of breakfast.

"Aren't you hungry?" Ada prodded, hoping for more than a one word answer.

"No."

Ada's lips pressed into a thing line. If Marbles had been able to get through to Echo, so could she. Ada just had to keep trying. As Ada continued to take in Echo's appearance, she noticed something strange.

"Your hair is wet." Ada realized.

"I tried to wash it… but that didn't work very well."

Ada took that as her chance. She sat down on the bed near Echo. Echo cringed, but did not panic or try to flee.

"What caused you trouble?" Ada asked Echo.

"I can't keep my arms up for very long. It hurts to keep my hands above my shoulders."

"Because of your chest?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't you let me wash your hair for you? That way you won't have to strain yourself."

"I guess…" Echo said hesitantly.

"It'll be okay, Echo. I won't hurt you."

Ada saw the fear built up in Echo's eyes from so much pain and torture. She couldn't even begin to fathom all of the horrible things Echo had been put through. Echo saw the warmth and honesty in Ada's eyes. Just as she had done with Dr. Marbles, Echo decided to gather her courage and trust Ada too.

"Go get wrapped in a towel and I'll go get a chair." Ada told Echo.

Echo nodded and did as she was told. Ada found the supply closet up the hall and got on old wooden chair. As she was leaving the supply room, Ada noticed a grateless fan against the wall. She quickly noticed the large wad of red hair tangled around the engine.

"Oh Echo, you poor thing." Ada whispered before retreating to Echo's bathroom. There she found Echo waiting, wrapped in a black towel.

Since the start of the orphanage, all of the "troubled" orphans had been given solely black towels to use. Black towels because they didn't stain with blood in unfortunate situations. The saying was: "The less of a mess, the easier the cleanup."

"Okay, Echo, just sit right here and we'll get started."

Ada positioned the chair to where that half of the chair was in the shower. Only Echo's head would get wet while the rest of her body remained dry. After Echo had sat down, Ada slipped off her shoes, walking into the shower in bare feet. Adjusting the shower head to face Echo, Ada discovered that the shower head pulled from the wall and was actually attached to a flexible hose.

"It extends!?" Echo exclaimed. "That would've been useful to know a long time ago."

"You didn't know it extended?"

"No." Echo said, tugging up the towel to cover the wound on her chest. It was about the eighth time she had tugged up the towel.

Ada turned on the water and adjusted the temperature.

"Is that too hot?"

"No. I like it hot. I'm tired of being cold."

_Poor thing_. Ada thought. _Marbles was right about her being cold. _

Ada began to wet down Echo's thick wavy hair and Echo closed her eyes. While Ada brought the green apple smelling shampoo to a lather Echo was silent. Despite her silence, Echo was enjoying the feeling of her hair being washed.

"So, tell me about yourself Echo. Marbles says you're an artist. What mediums do you use?"

""I've drabbled in all kinds of mediums. Usually I do mostly pencil work. But I've done other stuff, like photography."

"How interesting! Could you pick a favorite medium?"

"No, I couldn't. I like them all."

Echo decided it was time to get the attention off of her.

"How long have you and Dr. Marbles been together?" Echo asked.

"We've know each other since we were little children. Marbles and I have been together for a long time."

Ada continued on a little more about her relationship with Marbles while she let the conditioner soak into Echo's hair. While Ada spoke Echo closed her eyes again. When Ada noticed this, she thought that she had bored Echo to sleep.

"Echo? Are you okay?"

"Huh? Sorry. I was just thinking about someone." Echo whispered.

"Oh. Is this someone a boy?"

"Yeah."

"How sweet! What's he like?" Ada probed.

"He's big and tall and burly. But under that he's a giant teddy bear; always there for me. He's _my _big Russian teddy bear."

"That's adorable Echo!" Ada grinned.

"Erm…yeah."

"I'm sorry, I'm making you uneasy. Let's rinse the conditioner out and we'll be done."

"Okay."

Ada rinsed out the conditioner and shut off the water. Using another black towel, Ada wrapped up Echo's hair. As she had been sitting Echo's complexion had regained some color, but as she stood, Echo's face reversed back to its pale state.

"Honey are you alright?" Ada asked.

Echo shook her head. "I don't feel good."

Ada instinctively reached her hand out to feel for a fever but Echo flinched away. It was then Ada remembered what had happened with Marbles.

"I just want to feel for a fever, okay?"

Echo nodded and let Ada feel her forehead.

"You're a little warm. Why don't you get redressed? But first you need to get re-bandaged."

"I've not been wearing bandages."

"You've not?"

"No."

"I think you should let me at least bandage your chest. It wouldn't be very good if it got infected."

"I'm keeping it clean." Echo countered.

"I know you are, but bandaging it can also reduce pain."

"I'm okay. Really."

"Echo, I'm serious. You don't want to have your chest worked on again, do you?"  
>"No." Echo said grudgingly.<p>

"Will you let me bandage your chest now?"

"I-I guess." Echo consented.

"Thank you. You can go ahead and dress from the waist down while I get the bandages."

Echo put her pants and socks back on. As tempted as she was to put her shirts back on, she didn't. Echo knew Ada was just trying to help her. Letting her hair fall out of the towel, Echo took a brush to her drastically shortened mane. Soaking wet, her hair barely touched her shoulders. Echo sighed. She liked having long hair. The bathroom door opened with a clack and Echo was quick to cover her bare chest.

"It's okay, Echo, it's just me." Ada said soothingly. Ada had to make an effort not to grimace and wince at the massive bruise over Echo's ribs.

"Just hold out your hands just a little away from your sides and I'll start."

However, Echo did not budge. She appeared extremely nervous.

Ada sat the rolls of bandages atop the sink and put her hands on Echo's shoulders. Echo started to tremble, very uncomfortable.

"It's okay to be modest," Ada said softly. "But we're both girls here. I'll be gentle and swift and it'll be over before you know it."

"I'm sorry." Echo said. Her voice cracked and tears threatened to manifest. "I'm not used to this."

"Being injured isn't something you should get used to."

"No, that's not it! I'm not used to be taken care of. I've been looking after myself for so long I've forgotten what it felt like."

"Oh honey," Ada murmured. "It's okay, it's okay."

Ada finally coaxed Echo into dropping her arms. Just as she had promised, Ada was quick and gentle.

"There, I'm finished." Ada announced as she clipped the white bandages shut.

"Wow… that took a lot of pressure off of my chest." Echo said as she rolled her shoulders. "How'd you do that?"

"It's knowing how the female body works. To a lot of males, breasts are just a pretty thing to look at. They don't know what it's like to live with them, let alone what to do with them. By knowing how our breasts can affect our bodies, I know how to work with them to keep the entire torso comfortable. It's all just a matter of support."  
>"Like having the right type of bra?" Echo asked.<p>

"Exactly." Ada said as Echo wiped a few drops of water away that had fallen from her hair.

Echo put her post-op bra back on over the fresh bandages followed by a t-shirt and sweater. Echo padded back to her bed where she ungracefully plopped down. Ada followed her in and sat next to her.

"You're still a little warm. How about you try to take a nap and sleep it off."

"I'm not tired." Echo said flatly.

The prospect of sleeping was not very appealing with the grey fog lying in wait.

"Echo, I can see that you are tired. I have a feeling that the problem is that you don't want to sleep. Is that it?"

"I have nightmares." Echo admitted.

"Do you want to talk…"

"No."

"Okay. That's fine. I won't force you to talk."

"Thank you." Echo sighed.

"You know what helped me sleep when I was little?"

Echo looked at Ada questioningly.

"My mother would comb my hair. Let me try braiding your hair. By the time I'm done you should be floating off to dreamland."

"That's not very appealing." Echo remarked.

"Please just give it a chance."

"Fine."

"Ada took Echo's hairbrush and combed out the teenager's still wet hair. Then she began to weave the strands into a skull tight plait. Halfway through Echo yawned much to her own dismay. But this was so soothing. Due to the shortened length of Echo's hair, the remainder of hair that couldn't be braided was tied off into a little poop at the back of her head. When Ada was done, there were dark circles beneath Echo's eyes.

"Lay down, sweetheart." Ada cooed, helping Echo get comfortable. "Just rest. I'm sure your lunch will be here soon."

"It won't come. Just like breakfast." Echo yawned. "It doesn't matter. The food isn't worth eating."

"Don't say that. You'll get fed, don't worry."

Ada's words fell on deaf ears. Echo was already asleep. Ada was determined to find out why Echo was being treated so badly. Before leaving the room, Ada sent a text message to Marbles, telling him to call her as soon as possible. Ada sat the phone down on the table before exiting the room in search of some answers. Up the long corridor from Echo's cell, past the solitary confinement door, Ada found the woman she was looking for: Abigail Truehart.

"I hope you're coming down here to bring Echo her lunch." Ada remarked.

"Oh Ada, I don't know where you come up with these whimsical ideas! I told you, it's on a restricted diet." Abigail laughed.

_It's? _ Ada thought angrily.

"_She_ needs nourishment." Ada pointed out.

"And she'll get it," Abigail said, mimicking Ada's tone. "I don't see what you see in that troubled thing."

"That 'troubled thing' is a girl. A living person like you and I!"

Abigail rolled her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. "It's not fair. You even smell like Marbles."

"Well, I was wearing one of his jackets around the house this morning. My Marbles does have such a pleasant scent doesn't he?" Ada said, knowing that Abigail would hate that.

"He deserves so much better than you." Abigail hissed.

"Pray tell, what would that be?" asked Ada.

"Me, of course! I am much more poised and refined than you. Not to mention prettier. Marbles deserves me!"

"I don't think so. All you are is a horrible, cruel woman who mistreats innocent children, dresses like a whore, and wears more make up than a clown."

Ada's response was given in a dignified tone, one that was not received well. Unexpected to Ada, Abigail's hand struck her face, leaving a bright pink mark.

Ada felt the stinging sensation radiate throughout her cheek. Her natural response was to strike back. Then both women had handprints upon their faces.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Ada spat. "What forces you to hate that poor little girl so much?"

"It's none of your business!" Abigail hissed before Ada quickly grabbed a handful of brunette hair and yanked.

"Are you so petty that you hate her because she is more beautiful that you are both on the inside and out?"

"I am above you, you . . . you insolent bitch! You think your superb intelligence and poetry skills will get you everywhere! But they won't!" Abigail screeched, pushing Ada away from her. "I will not be bullied by the likes of you!"

Before Abigail could screech another word, Ada tackled the other woman into the wall, knocking the breath out of her enemy with a pathetic wheeze. The thud of the tackle and the screech of the insults jarred Echo awake from her nap. On the table Echo saw Ada's phone and decided to secretly catch this fight.

Ada and Abigail were again at each other's throats. Literally. Wrestling on the floor, Abigail harshly jarred her elbow into Ada's ribcage.

"Where'd you get that outfit? Heffers Unlimited?" Abigail sneered.

Ada ignored that snide remark and came up with her own.

"I must say, Abigail, that perfume really matches your personality. It reeks of countless failed relationships, desperation, and rotten tomatoes. What's it called? Eau de Desperate Whore?"

Abigail seethed at this. She pinned Ada to the floor.

"I cannot stand people like you! You think you're so damn perfect and witty. Well wake up! You're nothing but an oversized Barbie! I don't know what dumpster Marbles pulled you out of, but he could do better than you! He could do me!"

"That's all you want, isn't it?" Ada remarked.

It took a moment to realize what Ada had just gotten at. In the time Abigail's face flushed red in anger, Ada had broken free.

"How dare you!" Abigail seethed. It was quite miraculous that she was not yet foaming at the mouth. Again the two tussled.

"I really don't know how you keep getting your panties in a wad, Abigail, seeing as you never wear any."

Abigail kicked at Ada, knowing that remark had hit it's target. Clawing at each other, slapping, and attempts at strangling were all captured on video.

"You need to find a new dressmaker." Ada said, her face ruby red. "That dress makes your ass look bigger than a sumo wrestler. Or is that its natural size?"

Abigail tried to speak but all of her words came out jumbles, sounding like metal nails on a plate glass window. Tired of the irritating sounds, Ada whacked Abigail across the windpipe, only to have the favor returned. Each clutching her sore throat, both stood up and glared at the other.

"You're actions have been far from lady like today, Ada." Abigail said hoarsely. You call yourself a refined lady yet here you are fighting like a tom cat. I don't believe Marbles realizes how dirty he's getting his hands by dealing with you and that pathetic rat."

Ada had had enough.

"You're right. Ladies don't start fights. We _finish _them."

Faster than lightening Ada had her fist pulled back. She punched Abigail square in the nose. The sickening, yet oh so enjoyable, crunch of cartilage drowned out a faint ringing in the background.

"Shoot! No!" Echo hissed quietly.

Echo quickly caught the end of the fight, including an enjoyable shot of Abigail's bloody and broken nose, before saving the video in the phone's memory. The phone then began to ring louder. In her attempt to silence the thing, Echo accidentally answered the call.

"Er…hello?" Echo answered, her voice flustered.

"Echo? Is that you? Are you alright? Where's Ada?"

It was Dr. Marbles.

"Uh, yeah, hold on. I'll get her." Echo responded.

"Echo wait! I want to talk with you for a moment!" Marbles protested. But it was too late. He could already hear Echo calling after Ada.

"Miss Ada? You've got a phone call." Marbles heard Echo say.

The cell phone exchanged hands and Ada appeared on the other end.

"Ada, what's going on?" Marbles asked worriedly. "Is Echo alright?"

"She's been taking a nap. I guess your phone call woke her up." Ada said as she tucked a piece of loose hair behind her ear.

"I'm sorry I'm just now calling. I didn't hear my phone ring." Marbles apologized.

"It's alright. Marbles, Echo isn't on a restricted diet, is she?"

"No, absolutely not. She's over twenty pounds _underweight_. Echo needs to be eating."

"That's what I figured."

"Why? What's going on?"

"They're trying to starve her, Marbles! They haven't fed her at all today."

"That just isn't right." Marbles was thoroughly disgusted with the orphanage.

"What's worse is that they treat her like an animal! Abigail constantly refers to her as 'it' or 'that thing'. She even called Echo a rat!"

"Ignore her, Ada. Just focus on Echo. She's the one who needs your attention."

Ada sighed. "You're right. I think I'll go get some lunch for Echo and myself. How are the repairs coming along?"

"Good thinking. Well, I'm getting there."

"You'll get it done. I believe in you. I should get back to Echo now. I love you."

"I love you too. I'll see you tonight."

The call disconnected and Marbles pocketed his phone. He certainly felt Ada's frustration. No person should be treated like that. But hopefully it would all be over soon, when Echo was safe in his and Ada's arms there at Control Central. Marbles sighed, eager for those days ahead. While in his fantasy land, a pipe just a few inches above his head busted, shooting steam straight into Marbles' face. This brought Marbles back to reality with a large slew of expletives best not repeated. It was a very good thing Motherboard was in hibernation.

Back on Sensible Flats, Echo had returned to lying on her bed. She had her eyes closed, trying to doze off again. Ada placed her hand on Echo's shoulder, making sure she was awake to hear what she said.

"I'm going to go get you some lunch, okay?"

"Don't bother. It's not worth it." Echo responded.

"You need to eat, sweetie."

"They don't want me to eat. If I eat they'll get me."

"Then it will be our little secret."

Echo wasn't sure what to think of this idea. She'd rather not find out what would happen if she disobeyed. But Ada left in search of food anyway and Echo again dozed off. Echo didn't know for how long she'd been asleep, but before she knew it Ada was nudging her awake.

"Wake up, Echo, it's time to eat." Ada said.

"I'm not hungry." Echo mumbled, pulling her quilt over her head.

"I have a hard time believing that."

"Just let me sleep." Echo complained.

"I'll tell you what. Eat your lunch and then you can sleep the rest of the afternoon if you want."

Echo sat up and accepted a black take out container from Ada. Condensation had clouded the clear plastic lid, telling Echo that the contents were warm. Upon opening the lid, Echo was greeted with the aroma that only a grilled chicken salad could emit. Echo nervously looked out of the Plexiglas window, but when she found no one else around, she began to eat. As she started eating, Echo realized that she _had_ been pretty hungry.

When Echo was full, Ada disposed of the container for her. Echo swallowed her antibiotic pill and lay back down. Lying facing the wall, Echo told Ada,

"I'm scared to sleep."

"I know. Just think happy thoughts." Ada told her, hoping she would think of the good days to come once the adoption went through.

Ada placed a hand between Echo's shoulder blades in hopes to rub her back. However, Echo tensed up. The thought of a certain, unwelcome, visitor invaded her mind. With her eyes clamped shut, Echo remained frozen. Eventually Ada went ahead and lightly rubbed Echo's back. Relaxation finally overtook Echo and her muscles loosened, just as Ada had expected. Just as Echo was on the verge of sleep, Ada lightly ran the back of her fingers along the back of Echo's neck. That was the final push that put Echo right to sleep. Ada had found Echo's soft spot.

Once Echo was snoring lightly Ada adjusted the quilt and let her be. Ada had another plan to carry out. The thoughts of setting up Echo's room at Control Central had not left Ada's mind. She wanted to get a head start. So, she needed to know what all Echo had so she could determine what she and Marbles needed to buy for Echo's homecoming. Before she knew it time had flown by and Echo was bolting awake from a dream.

"Another bad dream?"

"Uh-huh." Echo mumbled, trying to keep herself from crying.

"It's alright, I'm right here." Ada soothed. She wrapped Echo in her arms and to her surprise, Echo actually clung to her. Whatever Echo had dreamed about had been very terrifying.

Ada held Echo while the little redhead trembled. Her attempts to not cry began to fail and squeaks and sobs began to escape Echo's lips. While Echo cried she tried to ask questions like 'why?' but her sobs prevented words from completely forming. Ada just held Echo closer while she babbled. When Echo had stopped crying, Ada continued to hug her. She wanted Echo to feel safe and cared about. As much as Ada was enjoying holding Echo, she knew that visiting hours were drawing to a close.

"I've got to go home now, sweetie."

Echo's head whipped up so that her green eyes met Ada's. Ada realized that Echo was afraid of being left alone.

"Don't be scared. I'll come back and see you soon." Ada promised as she wiped the tears off of Echo's cheeks.

Echo swallowed the rest of her tears and nodded. She watched Ada go, leaving her alone again in the little cell.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

In the dark of the night, quite after curfew, Abigail paid Echo a visit. Abigail found the little brat sound asleep. The sight was sickening. That little monster was the root of her problems.

"Get up!" Abigail commanded, yanking Echo up by her shirt collar.

Echo quickly was wide awake and struggling to break away from Abigail.

"You think you're so damn special! You're not! You're nothing but a waste of mass! Dirt is worth more that you. You were a mistake!" Abigail slapped Echo across the face. As if the insults hadn't hurt enough.

Truehart continued to lash out at Echo. The onslaught was relentless. Until Echo fought back. Echo kicked out her leg, the heel of her foot colliding with Truehart's already broken nose. The pain knocked Truehart to the ground.

"You'll pay for that you wretch!" Truehart growled while cupping her nose. She stalked out of the room, locking it behind her.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Ada felt horrible about having to leave Echo behind. She was beginning to understand what Marbles had been feeling since he had met Echo. The sooner they could get Echo out of there, bet better. Ada had no regrets concerning her actions today. She surprisingly had found that breaking Abigail's nose was quite enjoyable. Upon arriving at Control Central Ada found the housing sector in dead silence, meaning that Marbles was still working.

Going into the main control room, it only took a second for Marbles to be spotted. His legs were sticking out from beneath a terminal beneath Motherboard's mainframe.

"Almost done?" Ada asked.

Under the terminal Marbles grinned. It didn't matter how long he had known Ada for, her presence always made him happy.

"Just about." He answered. "When did you get here?"

"Just now. Have you had a break at all today to work on the paperwork?"

"No, I've not. I've been working all day nonstop."

"Well, we need to finish it. Tonight."

Marbles was surprised by the urgent tone to Ada's voice. He came out from beneath the terminal. The blazing fire of determination burning in Ada's eyes caught Marbles off guard.

"Love, what's gotten into you?"

"I'll be damned if I let that heartless bitch hurt _my_ daughter anymore than she already has!"

Marbles stood up and unsuccessfully held back a smile.

"You just referred to Echo as your daughter." Marbles grinned.

"Yes, so?"

"It's just nice to hear that. What about dinner then paperwork? We'll work all night to finish it if that's what it takes."

"I'll put on the coffee." Ada said, accepting Marbles' proposal.

**Footnotes:**

(1) Window Portal: pretty much a "window to another world" type thing. When the portal opens, you can see the other side. This is modified from the portals used in the cartoon "Martin Mystery"


	12. Bloody Hell

**A/N: Okay, okay, I know. It took WAY too long for me to post this. It's not that I didn't have ideas. I just had some problems getting it to paper. College, stress, life, emotions, everything likes to get in the way of my writing. I was going to post this yesterday, but I decided that there were parts I wasn't satisfied with. But now I'm satisfied, here it is, and now I'm going to work on Help Wanted for a while. Charlotte needs my attention. Sorry it took so long and I hope it was worth the wait.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cyberchase, just Echo.**

Picking Up the Broken Glass

Kawaii Stella

Chapter Twelve

Bloody Hell

Marbles started dinner the moment he and Ada returned to the housing sector. Marbles had pretty much worked through lunch, which meant eating was at the very top of his to do list. He decided to make a ginger pork stir fry which was quick and easy to make, especially with the ingredients pre-prepared.

"How was Echo today?" Marbles asked as he brought out a wok.

"She's okay, all things considered. She just wasn't having a good day today." Ada answered.

"What do you mean she wasn't having a good day?" Marbles' expression had turned almost frantic in the matter of a split second.

"Calm down, Marbles. She just didn't have a lot of strength or energy. Echo spent most of the day napping off and on. That's not unusual seeing that she doesn't sleep well, she's recovering from surgery, _and_ had her bones realigned just yesterday."

"I suppose you're right. I just don't like the thought of her having a 'bad day.' She's had enough of those. I just want things to go good for her. How did you two spend the day apart from napping?"

"I know. Well, the morning started with a bath. That's a little off base. I just washed her hair, actually."

Marbles looked at Ada questioningly.

"It's hard for her to wash her hair with her chest still so sore." Ada explained, her tone implying that it should have been quite obvious.

"Oh-kay." Marbles said. He was sort of glad that he hadn't been able to go today. Things could've gotten awkward.

"Then I styled her hair until she was ready to go back to sleep."

"Echo's hair is already wavy. What more could you do to it?"

"I French braided it." Ada said matter of factly.

"I'm sorry. I'm not a woman. Therefore I don't understand these things." Marbles said in his own defense.

"You better start learning then." Ada teased.

"There is no text book on women. Trust me. The male population has been searching a long time for it."

Ada laughed. Marbles had an older sister and a handful of younger sisters, but the majority of his siblings were boys. Ada wondered how much having a daughter would change his outlook on life, especially regarding the more feminine things.

"I feel so bad for her. She doesn't sleep because she has so many nightmares."

"Is that why she hasn't been sleeping? I knew Echo had said she hadn't been sleeping, but she did not elaborate as to why. I don't think she had a nightmare when she fell asleep in the cybercoop with me yesterday."

Ada nodded. "Echo told me that she was scared to sleep. I had hoped she would sleep peacefully since I rubbed her back until she fell asleep. But she woke up and cried she was so afraid."

Marbles gave Ada an incredulous stare.

"She let you rub her back?"

"She was tense about it at first but she loosened up."

"She really trusts you, Ada. That makes me happy."

Marbles served the stir fry which put off a very tantalizing aroma. While the two ate Ada had the opportunity to ask Marbles about his day.

"How was your day, dear?"

"Long. I don't think that much equipment has simultaneously malfunctioned before. At least it's fixed now. The reboot will take most of the night, but Motherboard will be up and running again by morning. I really spent most of the day worrying about you."

"What reason would you have to worry?" Ada inquired.

"I can't really pinpoint it. I just worried… about you and Echo and everything else. I was worried Echo would have a relapse. I worried she'd throw a fit at you or that she'd gotten beat up again. I was very worried that Abigail would give you a terrible time. I know she sees you as a threat because you're much more beautiful and sweet than she is."

"Oh Marbles! That's sweet of you to worry! I can assure you that there weren't any major problems." Ada said, choosing to omit the brawl in the hall.

Marbles smiled with his fears now put to rest. Ada helped him load the dishwasher and put on a pot of coffee.

"I picked out a room for Echo last night." Marbles mentioned as he took two mugs down from the cupboard.

"You did!" The excitement in Ada's voice was impossible to contain.

"Yes, just four rooms down from our suite. It's the room with the large window seat and private bath."

"That room will be perfect for her! What color should we paint it? What type of curtains would she prefer? Do you think she would want sconces?"

"Whoa! Ada, Ada, slow down! Don't you think it would be best to let Echo decide on those things? It is her room, after all. I figure a plain ivory base coat will suffice until she decides on a color scheme."

"Oh I suppose so." Ada conceded. "I just want to get a jump on things. I want Echo to have a cozy and safe environment."

"She will have a cozy and safe environment. My point is that Echo is a very creative person. I think that she'll feel more at home here if she gets to personalize her room herself. It will help her get used to having a permanent place where she belongs."

"That's a good point. I think she'll have fun decorating her room."

"I do too. I'd also rather she get a color she likes instead of us choosing one she hates. Despite knowing her nearly two months, there is much I still don't know about her."

"Maybe we should look closer at her files. They may hold some of the answers that we seek."

"Good idea. Why don't we head to the living room and begin I'll get the paperwork and meet you there."

Trekking to his office, Marbles grabbed the stack of files off of his desk. But before he returned to the living room, he stopped a moment to look at a framed photograph of Ada and himself. They had been at a holiday charity gala when the photograph had been taken.

Marbles would never forget that night. While he had adorned a basic tuxedo, Ada had outshined them all in that strapless red floor length number. With her hair piled in gold spirals atop her head, and make-up flawless, she looked like she had stepped straight out of an issue of _Vogue_. No matter where they went Ada turned heads, male and female alike. Marbles was unbelievably proud to have this gorgeous creature, his best friend since he was six, hanging on his arm. As the night went on, the couple went through the standard motions that accompanied these events. They danced the occasional waltz between conversations with various couples. Many of these couples loved to brag about their young children. At last the couple escaped the chatter and made their way outside to a garden.

The night was cold so Marbles slipped his jacket over Ada's shoulders. Ada remained silent, looking up at the quickly clouding sky.

"What troubles you, my dear?" Marbles asked.

"Hearing about the others' children made me wonder what it'll be like when we start a family of our own. It's both an exciting and terrifying thought. We'll have little ones who look up to us and rely on us for everything. That's a lot of pressure! I don't know how we'll do it. That's not to say we can't do it. I just fear I'll end up falling though on our children. Just like my father did."

"That won't happen. You're completely different from your father, Ada. My parents say that when you have kids, everything changes. You see things from a new perspective. Everything will be different and new. Out entire worlds will shift onto a new axis, one that revolves totally around our precious children. It gives us the strength to love them, to nurture them, to fight for them. I believe that. I also believe we'll do just fine when we become parents."

Ada smiled. "I believe that too. Thank you, Marbles, for making me see things this way. It's a much happier picture. I wonder what our children will be like."

"They'll be amazing and unique, each one of them."

Then, a pure, white, snowflake landed on Ada's nose. Her nose twitched, much like a rabbit's, in response to this sudden nip of ice.

"It's snowing! It's the first snow of the year." Ada said rather whimsically. "It's so beautiful and pristine and mystical. Just like life…and children."

"It really does change everything." Marbles murmured to himself, snapping out of his recollection. Echo had effectively become the center of his and Ada's world. They would do anything for her. Without a doubt Marbles knew that his parents had spoken the truth. A child did change everything.

"What took you so long?" Ada asked as Marbles walked in with the paperwork and a couple of clipboards.

"Sorry. I was reminiscing."

"About what?"

"That night at the gala when you began contemplating motherhood."

"You still have that picture on your desk, don't you?"

"Of course I do! I love that picture because you're in it."

Ada blushed. She just couldn't help it. Marbles had always had that effect on her. Modestly, she said,

"You flatter me too much, Marbles."

"On the contrary, my dear, I don't flatter you enough." Marbles argued.

Ada knew it would do her no good to argue. Instead she shortly returned to the original subject of Marbles' reminiscing.

"What got you so wrapped up in that particular memory?"

"Hm? Oh, well, that night we found ourselves talking about how our lives would be completely changed when we had children, as well as wondering what our own children would be like. Back then it all seemed so far away."

"Yet here we are." Ada finished for him. "You were right, you know."

"About what?"

"I believe, in response to my musing over our future children, you said, 'They'll be amazing and unique, each one of them.' You were right on all levels. Echo certainly fits that description."

Marbles grinned.

"Let's start, shall we? There are things to sign and answers we seek."

"I hope we find more answers than dotted lines. We've already signed so many times!"

Picking up from exactly where they had left off, Marbles and Ada worked their way through dozens of pages. They both read each page carefully, signing, initialing, and checking boxes wherever necessary. Two piles were made, one for the papers they could keep, the other for the papers to be turned in for filing. At last the final dotted line had been signed and dated.

"Ada? I'm ready for the next page," Marbles said, eyes still on the current page on his clipboard.

"There are no more. That was the last one. We're done, with the paperwork, at least."

A smile overtook Marbles' face.

"Wonderful! Now we need to see what we can learn from these files about Echo." He said before reaching for his half-full coffee mug, which had been refilled thrice already. Marbles was running on fumes, the coffee was about the only thing keeping him awake. But that was okay. He would do whatever he had to in order to get things done, meaning, in this case, to bring Echo home.

"Did you bring the part of the file with Echo's background information with you?"

Marbles nodded, swallowing another large swig of coffee.

"This is all they gave me," Marbles said, picking up a semi thick pile of paper held together by black paper clamps. He un-clipped both clamps.

Ada scooted closer to Marbles so that she sat against his left side. Marbles quickly skimmed over several pages, hoping that something important would pop out at him. However, nothing did. A slight frown appeared on Marbles' face at this revelation.

"What's troubling you, my dear?" Ada asked.

"There isn't as much information here as I hoped there would be."

"Let's make the best of what information we do have here. The rest we'll just have to learn from Echo herself."

"Somehow, I think that sounds easier than it actually will be."

"Maybe so, but if I can get her to tell me about her boyfriend, I bet she'd tell you about her past. Oh, now Marbles! What's with that face?"

"I'm not making a face." Marbles denied.

"You are too! What in Cyberspace has gotten into you?"

"I glanced through Echo's will. . . If that document is correct, then that boy is not her boyfriend."

"Then who is he to Echo?"

"Her husband."

"Her husband!?"

"According to Echo's will, he is."

"I never would have guessed that Echo was married! She's still so young!"

"Which is precisely the reason why I don't like it. Echo's much too young to be in those types of relationships."

"How old is Echo, exactly?"

"I actually don't know. I don't believe she ever mentioned her age."

"Let's find out, then." Ada said, taking the papers from Marbles' hands. Ada did not have to look far, as Echo's birth date was listed on the first page. "Here, Echo was born on June 8th, 1995. She just turned seventeen a couple weeks ago."

"What a way to spend a birthday!"

"What do you mean?"

"Echo spent her birthday on the operating table."

"Oh how awful! After she gets settled in, we need to give her a proper birthday."

"Agreed. What else does that page say?"

"She was born at three-twelve in the afternoon at Glenbroch Medical Center, weighing in at five pounds, seven ounces. The birth certificate is signed by a Helena Glasgow and a David MacIntosh. I assume her parents never married, because Echo carries her mother's maiden name."

"Probably."

"Oh! Look, Marbles! Look at her tiny footprints!"

"She _was_ a tiny baby." Marbles chuckled, seeing the itsy handprints as well.

Throughout the rest of the pages, they found a little more information about Echo's past. The results of an early learning aptitude test were listed, marking Echo as exceptionally bright for a five year old. Other grade cards and aptitude tests followed suit. For many of her early elementary years Echo was listed at the top of her class, despite a rather random period of time where she switched schools a handful of times, eventually ending up back at the school she had started out at. Then came a shocking drop in Echo's grades which lasted for about two years. For those two years her grades remained far below average, some barely at the passing mark.

"Look at these comments from her teachers," Ada said, her voice holding a slight level of shock. "'_Severe lack of participation… Withdrawn… Shows little initiative and effort.'_ Oh, look at this one! _'Echo's been acting completely unlike herself this term. Her attitude and behavior contradicts what we have seen of her in previous years. Her current aloof and withdrawn behavior is very concerning. I'd like to see her go back to her normal behavior, even if it means enrolling her in sessions with the school counselor.' _What in the world happened to her?"

"I don't have the faintest idea. I don't think she went to a counselor either. Or, if she did, it didn't help. These grades and comments go on for six more quarters."

"And then they pick up again, almost as if nothing had happened." Ada noticed as she looked at the next year's set of report cards.

"But something _did_ happen. This just doesn't make any sense! When Echo's given a task, she does it to the absolute best of her ability. Judge Trudy testified as much."

"Maybe that's how she is now. Maybe she wasn't like that back then."

"I don't think so. She was always at the top of her class up until that point. To stay at that level takes a lot of effort."

"That is true. It seems that we've got another mystery on our hands. A mystery that only Echo can unravel for us. I'm sure she'll open up to us about it in due time."

"I'm sure you're right," Marbles said, giving Ada's hand a gentle squeeze. "Until then, what else is in there?"

"Not too much, it seems as if there's a lot of information missing. What's in here seems awfully vague."

"That's odd. There should be more than this. I wonder why so much information has been left out…" Marbles trailed off as he was glancing over some of the medical papers.

"What is it?"

"It seems Echo is supposed to be wearing glasses."

"I've never seen her glasses."

"Neither have I, but she should have them. The prescription is listed right here."

The information of Echo's glasses was about the last bit of knowledge Marbles and Ada gained from the stack of papers. After Marbles had jotted down the information on Echo's glasses on a scrap piece of paper, he and Ada returned to his office. There Marbles began organizing the papers he was allowed to keep. Bringing out a number of file folders, Marbles separated everything into neat, organized groups. Each group was also arranged in chronological order. The first file was solely for Echo's identity information-her birth certificate, passport information, copies of her Young Scots Card, special privileges driver's licenses, and other general IDs. The second file was for her heath history. This file was relatively empty for now. It would be filled when Echo was adopted and all of her heath information was handed over to Marbles. The third file was arranged with multiple subfolders for her school papers.

"You even had the filing planned out already." Ada chuckled.

"It doesn't hurt to be prepared. I figure that we'll receive all of the missing files when we get Echo. By then I should also have the records from her stay at New Hope." Marbles said, taking the new files and depositing them in the third drawer of a four drawer, black filing cabinet.

"No, it doesn't hurt to be prepared." Ada heartily agreed. "Speaking of being prepared… Here," Ada produced a list and handed it to Marbles. "I made a basic list of things I think we should get before Echo gets here."

Marbles accepted the list and looked at it, expecting it to be rather short. However, the list turned out to be rather extensive.

"How in Cyberspace would you know that Echo needed all of these things?" Marbles asked, exasperated by the sheer length of the list.

"I had a little spare time while she napped so I took a look around."

"You snooped through Echo's belongings!"

"I did not snoop, Marbles. I simply took inventory."

"You snooped." Marbles insisted. "This list is a little bit too extravagant to be called basic, don't you think?"

"It doesn't hurt to be prepared."

Marbles sighed as his own logic was used against him.

"I agree with several of the items on this list. She'll definitely need the toiletries and such. But the majority of this list is clothing. I don't think it would be a good idea to but everything just yet."

"Why not? She really doesn't have a lot of clothes!"

"I know. Which is why you should pick out a _few_ things for her. After she gets here the two of you can go shopping to fill up her closet. It's not that you wouldn't do a great job picking out clothes for Echo-you would-but I'm more concerned with making sure she knows she has the freedom to wear what she wants."

"Point taken. We've been working longer than I thought. You must be exhausted."

"I'm managing. Why don't you stay here with me tonight?"

"I'd love to. I never get to spend enough time with you."

Marbles grinned and took Ada's hand.

"Then let's to bed. It's been a long day."

The couple exchanged their day clothes for much comfier pajamas. Marbles' body rejoiced as he relaxed into the softness of his bed. He relished the warm, comforting company of the woman beside him. With her back to his chest, Marbles put his arm across Ada's to hold her to him. Moments later they were both soundly sleeping.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

It had taken a very long time for Echo to fall back asleep after Truehart's nasty visit in the night. Echo did not know what time she had fallen back to sleep, but when she woke up at dawn she knew she hadn't slept long. Lying still as could be, Echo took a few deep breaths before starting her day.

Crawling out from beneath the covers, Echo stood tall on the tips of her toes to stretch her calves. Her commander wouldn't be too pleased with her if he knew how badly she had abandoned her regular regimen.

"I used to never miss a day. But I was strong then. Now I'm weak." Echo sighed as she stepped into the shower and pulled down the detachable shower head.

Echo was glad that Ada had washed her hair for her. Echo wouldn't have to deal with the discomfort that came along with washing her hair today. After staying under the hot water for as long as she could, Echo shut off the water, stepped into a black towel and dried off. The hot water had caused her scars to turn a furious shade of cherry red. Echo hated seeing her body this way and was quick to put on her blue jeans, white cotton socks, an ivory camisole, and a navy t-shirt to remedy the situation. She had left her grey pullover sweatshirt on her bed. After she pulled the sweatshirt down over her head and slipped her arms through the sleeves, Echo brushed her hand over the plait on her skull, finding it still very much intact albeit messy from sleep. Echo tightened the elastic tie holding her braid together and fluffed the tuft of heir where the braid ended, just inches above the nape of her neck.

Echo began to make her bed, not hearing the tumblers on the lock click open. The door slammed open with a loud bang. Echo whipped around with a start, finding none other than Ledge letting himself in.

"It's good to see you again," Ledge said with a smirk, his pale, ice blue eyes shining with an evil glee.

Echo's heart pounded in her chest, an action that proved to be rather painful. She tried to run for the sanctity of the bathroom.

"Oh no you don't! Ledge growled. "We are going to spend some quality time tighter today. Just you and me. You won't be needing this sweatshirt, sweetheart," he said, peeling away her first layer.

Echo struggled, but there wasn't much she could so as Ledge used his right arm to put her in a chokehold. Echo could not break free as Ledge dragged her into the same supply closet where he had caught her hair in the fan. Keeping Echo pinned firmly to his chest, Ledge grabbed a box cutter off the top a stack of dinged up cardboard boxes filled with junk. With the box cutter in one hand and Echo in his other arm, Ledge now had to somehow immobilize her on the floor. Otherwise, he could not proceed.

A wicked grin unfolded on Ledge's face as he tightly clinched his fist around the box cutter. In a swift and powerful movement, he took that fist and delivered a hard blow smack dab to the center of Echo's sternum. Echo fell to the floor with a thud, completely frozen in pain. A few moments later the initial shock of the pain subsided and broken squeaks and sobs began to emanate from Echo's crumpled form.

"Oh, don't cry you little whiner. That couldn't have hurt that bad." Ledge scolded. He sat himself on Echo's legs, just above her knees, keeping her from even attempting to flee. "Today we are going to play 'doctor.' Of course I am the doctor and you are my patient. I think today I'm going to remove some of your stitches. A fairly common procedure, so it _should_ be simple."

Ledge triggered the switch that unsheathed the blade of the box cutter. The brass blade was shiny new, probably not having ever been used before this moment. Ledge stared at the blade in a twisted awe. Echo's heart sped in worry at what could be going through his head.

"Hey, Glasgow. You've heard of the Glasgow Smile before, right?"

Echo instantly did not like where this was headed.

"Of course you have. It was invented in your native Scotland. Yeah, I know you've heard of it. Your heart sped up a lot when I mentioned it. I can feel your heartbeat pulsate through your veins. It's an interesting thing, that Glasgow Smile. I wonder how one would look on you…"

Ledge lightly trailed the blade from the back of one jaw, across her lips, to the back of the other jaw. Echo trembled beneath him, truly terrified that he would cut through her face. Echo was tremendously relieved when he moved the box cutter away from her face. But she wasn't out of the woods yet. Ledge began to peel back Echo's t-shirt and camisole which revealed the unhealed wound above her small intestine.

"Nah… that wouldn't be right. I'm a doctor, I can't do that. You need your face to be intact. It's too pretty to waste, especially since you are to be my queen. All right, my little patient, let's return to the task at hand, shall we?"

Slowly Ledge put the blade to the top stitch, putting it between the separated skins that had not yet fused back together. The thin, sharp edge came up under the super strong thread. Ledge tested the thread's resistance, giving it a few light tugs. Then he swiftly, and harshly, yanked the blade upwards, cutting the stitch in two. The portion of skin that the stitch had been holding together began to spread apart like flower petals. Echo gave a little screech of pain while Ledge moved on to the other stitches. After giving two more the same treatment as the first, blood had begun to well up and pool. Becoming bored, Ledge haphazardly tore through the rest, causing quite the mess in blood. Ledge had never expected this to get so bloody. Figuring Echo was in too much pain to run, Ledge got up to get a rag to mop up the mess. By the moment he had picked up the rag, Echo had scampered away.

"Stupid little bitch!" Ledge hissed.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

When Marbles awoke in the morning he felt wonderfully refreshed and alert. He felt ready to face anything sent his way.

"I take it you slept well?" Ada said as she snuggled into Marbles' chest.

"Very well." Marbles said, running his fingers through Ada's hair. "I think it may have something to do with the person sharing my bed with me."

"I can't argue with that. But…I hope working yourself into exhaustion won't be a common thing."

"I hope not as well, but why would you say that?"

"When you fall asleep after working yourself past your healthy limit, you snore."

"I do not snore."

"Oh, believe me, my dear, you do. Quite loudly at times."

Marbles looked at Ada in shock. Never before had she said anything about him snoring. He never even suspected that he had snored at all.

"I'm sorry. I hope I didn't badly disturb you last night."

"Of course not. I was too comfortable in your arms to be disturbed."

Smiling, Marbles rolled onto his back and pulled Ada on top of him. She kissed the bridge of his nose before nuzzling her cheek against his.

"I hate that I have to get ready for work." Marbles mumbled while rubbing Ada's back.

"Actually, you don't."

"I think I do. It isn't the weekend."

"No you don't. I'm giving you the day off. I'll take care of Motherboard so you can do what you please with the day."

"Ada! This is so nice of you!" Marbles was completely surprised.

Ada giggled.

"So, go on and shower, get dressed, and head on out to Sensible Flats. Oh don't look at me like that! I knew that's exactly what you'd do with a spare day. She'll be happy to see you. Don't forget to say hello for me!"

Thanks to Ada's generous surprise, Marbles had a spring in his step when he arrived on Sensible Flats, especially after dropping off the adoption paperwork. Ada knew just what to do to put a smile on his face and Marbles loved her more for it. Inside the orphanage Abigail sat sullenly at the front desk. She had her chin in her hand and almost didn't notice Marbles walk in. Almost. When she had realized that Marbles had walked in, Abigail sprang to her feet.

"You're back sooner than I thought you'd be! What brings you here today, Dr. Marbles?"

Abigail's voice sounded a little off. Seconds later Marbles realized that it was because of her nose. It was swollen and discolored, even under the thick layer of makeup.

"I'm here to see Echo, as always."

"Oh. Well, if you get bored with it, you know where to find me!" Abigail said with a wink.

Marbles worked hard not to roll his eyes as he began down the hall. Abigail certainly was full of herself. As he reached the end of the hall, Marbles was a bit surprised to find Echo's door open. It always remained closed. This was a solitary confinement cell. The main room was empty. The bathroom door was open just a crack and Marbles suddenly felt his nightmares come to life. He softly rapped on the bathroom door before pushing it open. When he found it empty, he released a breath he hadn't known he was holding and went back into the main room. Marbles was becoming very worried when Echo sprinted into the room. Her hair had begun to fall from its braid in several waves around her face. She looked much like a wounded rabbit running from hungry foxes.

The moment Echo spotted Marbles she ducked behind him for protection. Echo lightly grabbed hold of Marbles' jacket as she continued to hide behind his back. Just then a taller boy, around Echo's age, appeared at the door. With a squeak Echo practically leaped backwards onto her bed, trying to run away from this boy. Marbles immediately realized that this boy must be one of her abusers. The boy didn't seem very happy to find Marbles in the room.

"Hey, man, you think you could, oh, I don't know, scram!?" the boy said angrily. "I have some unfinished business with her."

_I don't think so. I'm not going anywhere._ Marbles thought. He had to defend Echo from this menace. "Why don't you just run along?" Marbles said, trying to stay calm.

The boy's face flushed red. "OH COME ON! What could you even want with the stupid little whore!? She's just a dumb bitch!"

Marbles wasn't so calm anymore. Usually, Marbles wasn't one to be violent, but he wasn't going to have this. Echo was going to be his daughter and his instinct dictated that he protect her. Swiftly Marbles grabbed the boy by the neck and started to guide him from the room.

"You stay the hell away from her!" Marbles growled. "If I even _suspect_ that you've come near Echo again, it won't be pretty. I promise you that."

"You've got it all wrong, old man. I'll do whatever I please with her!" Ledge said, jerking out of Marbles' grip and attempting to head for Echo.

Marbles was quick to grab hold of Ledge's arm and pin it behind his back. When Ledge tried to break free again, a swift, harsh, yank was all it took for Marbles to dislocate Ledge's arm from its socket. A jumbled mix of growls and curse words began to spew from Ledge's mouth. Silence came only when Marbles forcefully shoved Ledge from the room. So forcefully in fact, that Ledge slammed face first into the hallway wall before crumpling onto the floor.

"I told you it wouldn't be pretty." Marbles said before pushing the door shut and locking it before taking a deep breath. Turning his attention back to Echo, he asked softly, "Are you alright?"

Echo's eyes were wide, still trying to process the scene which had just unfolded in front of her. In response to Marbles' question, Echo pulled her hands away from her side and held them out to Marbles, palms up. From her fingertips to the base of her palms, Echo's hands were completely coated in blood. Her side was still oozing the sticky red substance.

Marbles was quick to close the distance between him and Echo. Sitting on the bed he began to see the extent of the damage done by Ledge and his box cutter.

"He tore out all of your stitches." Marbles said in disgust. He suddenly found himself wishing that he had done more to punish the youth. "It's going to be okay, don't worry. I'll re-stitch the incision."

"You will?" Echo asked, sounding very much like a scared child.

The tone shocked Marbles a little, but he realized that even after all she had been through, Echo was still a child.

"Of course I will." He said softly. From his pocket he pulled what almost looked like a small radio that one could clip to a belt loop on their pants. But it wasn't a radio. It was a storage device. Not for digital information that could be held on a flash drive, but for actual physical items including first aid kits. Marbles scrolled a little wheel on the device's side and from a small projected screen chose the first aid kit that contained all that he would need to take care of Echo. Setting the kit on the floor, Marbles unhooked the lid for access to its contents.

"Just lay back and relax, Echo. I'll be done before you know it. My professors in medical school always commented on how quickly I could suture a cut."

Echo eased down onto her back. "I thought you said you were a computer technician."

"I am now. But I went to medical school before I got my doctorate in computer technologies."

"Oh."

Marbles started to wipe away the blood to see the extent of the damage done. He found that some of the original thread remained in the skin. Marbles would have to remove all of the old stitching before he could fix it. To get the blood flow to slow, Marbles smeared some antibiotic gel over the broken blood vessels. The green gel stung and a hiss escaped between Echo's lips.

"I'm sorry. I know it stings." Marbles apologized as he sat a thick tissue on the bed to collect the old stitches on.

"Thank you, for throwing Ledge out. If you hadn't have been here to protect me… Things would have been so much worse."

"He had no right to treat you that way. Or to say what he said, for that matter. That boy has a lot of gall to pull something like this." Marbles said as he continued to remove the old stitching.

"It doesn't matter. He does it anyway. It wasn't the first time he's gotten hold of me and I'm sure it won't be the last. I'm just glad you were here. I don't want to think of what else he would've done to me if you hadn't been here today. It's just…he's just…so horrible!" Echo choked out.

"He is horrible. He's got a twisted mind to treat you this way. I'm sorry you have to put up with him."

"Twisted doesn't even begin to cover it! Do you know what he said to me? He put that box cutter on my face and asked me if I knew what the Glasgow Smile was! He trailed that blade from jaw to jaw. I was scared to death that he was going to cut open the skin. Then before he started cutting out my stitches he said, 'I wonder what it would be like, to carve my name into your flesh, marking you as mine for now and forever.'"

Marbles stared at Echo in pure shock. This boy was a thousand times more twisted that Marbles had originally thought.

"Oh Echo, I'm so, so, sorry. You don't deserve that. No one does."

Echo sniffled while Marbles removed the last of the old sutures.

"I'm almost done. Just hold tight." But before Marbles could even put the new thread into her skin, Echo's body convulsed in serious pain. "Echo? Is there something you aren't telling me? If you're in any kind of pain at all, you have to tell me. Don't leave anything out. I can't properly treat you if there's something I'm missing."

"He punched me really hard in the breastbone. Now my entire body hurts so bad." Echo admitted.

"I'm going to give you a strong painkiller after I'm done, okay? It has a light sedative in it, but the rest will do you some good."

Echo nodded as Marbles swiftly sutured the incision shut again and taped gauze over it for added protection.

"Here, take this," Marbles said as he put a pill into Echo's hand.

"What is it?"

"It's a mixture of Valium and the light sedative. It's going to take the pain away."

Echo popped the pill without even taking a swallow of water. It didn't take long for the medicine to kick in. Within a couple minutes Echo's eyes were starting to glaze over and a silly smile began working its way onto her lips.

Echo giggled. "Y'know what's a funny word?"

"What?"

"Turnip."

"Turnip?"

"Yeah! It's just silly! Turnip. Tur-nip. Tur-nup. Tuuuurnip. Turnip."

Marbles couldn't help but chuckle at Echo's Valium induced interest in the word "turnip." The silly smile brought some life into Echo's features. Marbles was pleased when Echo let him playfully ruffle her hair, combing the remnants of the braid apart. Echo broke into a short fit of hysterical giggles before she calmed down. She tried to get comfortable by lying on her belly, but the pinging sensation in her sternum was not something she enjoyed.

"I can't lie on my belly!" Echo complained with her lips forming a pout.

"Let's see if you can't get comfortable some other way."

Echo ended up lying on her left side with her pillow stretched lengthwise beneath her, cradling not only her head but her bruised ribs as well. Within moments of getting comfortable, Echo's eyes had drifted shut and the sedative had taken full effect. With Echo sleeping soundly, Marbles made sure the blankets were snugly around her. With that being done Marbles sat down on the floor, resting his side against the bed. Echo's left hand was curled up near her face, her right hand lying flat on the mattress. Marbles laid his hand next to Echo's, close, but not touching. Yet, even in sleep, Echo somehow sensed that Marbles' hand was near her own. Echo's took Marbles' index finger into her fist and didn't let go.

Marbles was amazed that Echo was holding his hand. He had never before realized how small Echo's hands were. She looked so at peace. Loving how it felt having Echo hold his hand, Marbles wasn't about to destroy the moment by pulling away. He was going to stay right in that spot and enjoy the moment for as long as it lasted. He never wanted the moment to end. Echo's eyes began to dart around beneath their lids, signaling that she was beginning to dream. Marbles couldn't help but wonder what Echo was dreaming about. Her face showed no emotion, so Marbles could only hope that she wasn't trapped in some torturous nightmare. Marbles sat there for a long while before Echo finally surrendered his finger. She rolled onto her back, her right hand curling up next to her head. Marbles figured it would still be a few minutes still before Echo actually woke up. He busied himself by discarding of the bloodied medical tools he had used, including the old stitching. He took a few wet wipes and gently scrubbed the dried blood off of Echo's hands and stomach. Then he sat out the containers with the lunch he had made for the two of them earlier this morning. While waiting for Echo to wake up, Marbles went ahead and ate so he would have more time to ask Echo about herself.

At last, Echo's brow furrowed and her eyes fluttered open. For a moment she just started at the ceiling, recalling what had happened. While she was giving a little stretch Marbles asked,

"Sleep well?"

Echo jumped a bit. She had forgotten that he was there. "Yeah I slept okay." Echo sat up against the wall and stuffed her pillow behind her back. "My whole body's really stiff."

"Your muscles will relax as you wake up. Did anyone bring you breakfast this morning?"

Echo shook her head.

"I didn't think so. Here, have some lunch. A filling meal will help you feel better."

Echo gratefully accepted the Tupperware container and pried off the lid. Her eyes rolled back some behind her eyelids from the miraculous smell. It took a large effort for her not to loudly moan in pleasure. In the container was a large serving of slow cooked beef, shimmering in its own broth with large chunks of potato, carrots, and a pile of egg noodles.

"Did you cook this?"

"Yes."

"It's really good. You're a great cook."

"Thank you. I'm glad you like it." Marbles said smiling.

Echo was going to town. She hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday. Marbles' grandmother had always told him, "The sound of silence at the table is the sign of a meal well made {1}." If Echo's actions were of any indication, he had done well. Of course, the recipe had come from his grandmother, so partial credit went to her.

"Echo, do mind if I ask you a few questions?"

With her mouth still full, Echo shook her head.

"So, are you from Glasgow?"

Echo swallowed and a small, amused smile appeared on Echo's lips.

"No," she said, "but good assumption. My ancestors _did_ found Glasgow. Some of my family got tired of the city life, so many clan members moved back to the village in the glen we came from, some several hours away. I was born there, in Rosemyth."

"I've never heard of Rosemyth."

"Not many from outside the area have. It's on the west side of Loch Mhor. I lived not too far from Loch Ness."

"That I've heard of."

"I figured you would have." Echo said, spearing several noodles onto her fork.

"I'm sure this sounds silly and you've probably heard it a thousand times, but have you ever seen Nessie?"

Echo almost choked on her food when she tried not to laugh. She wasn't laughing at Marbles' question, but at the sheepish look on his face. Clearing her throat, Echo finally answered.

"Yes. I've seen Nessie before."

"You've seen the Loch Ness Monster!"

"Yes. Those in the loop just usually call her Momma Ness. We call the baby Nessie. She's so cute. Fits right in your lap, she does. What? You don't believe me?"

"No, no. I believe you. It's just that I never really expected you to say yes."

"Aye, she's real. Scoff at Momma Ness and she'll swallow ye whole, cough ye up, then toss ye clear across the Loch."

While Marbles took a few moments to process this new information, Echo returned to finishing her meal.

"I hope I'm not crossing a line here, but, have you ever done something in the past that you aren't necessarily proud of now?"

Echo's face went dark. Slowly she finished chewing the last piece of beef.

"Echo?"

Echo swallowed and Marbles took the empty Tupperware from her hands.

"Echo, please talk to me."

Echo looked down at her lap. "I…I used to smoke." She dared a peek at Marbles, who, to her relief, did not look angry or upset. His understanding expression encouraged Echo to continue. "It was a few years ago. I was under a lot of stress at the time, and I needed a crutch. So I turned to cigarettes. Even though I was underage it was easy to go out and get a pack of smokes. Anytime I needed to calm down I'd just go outside and light up. I smoked for three months. At the end of the third month I realized I didn't want to continue on like that, having to rely on something so unhealthy. So I quit. I don't think I ever smoked more than five packs over those three months."

"How long did it take you to quit?"

"It didn't take any time to quit. I was two cigarettes into the fifth pack when I decided I didn't want to do it anymore. Once I had decided I wanted to quit I just threw the rest of the pack into a trashcan and walked away to meet a few friends at the coffee house. I hope this doesn't change what you think about me."

"Actually, it does."

"Oh." Echo looked upset.

"But not in a bad way."

"Huh?"

"I knew you were strong, but this just shows me that you're stronger than what I thought. It isn't easy to give up something as addicting as smoking. It can take a very long time for some people to quit. But you quit in that single moment. That takes a lot of strength and you have my respect for it."

A soft blush spread on Echo's cheeks.

"Is that the only thing?"

The blush vanished and the dark shroud of shame reappeared around Echo.

"It isn't, is it?"

"N-n-no."

"Will you tell me about it?"

"It isn't that simple! Hell, I quit smoking, but so what? It was years ago and tons of people quit every single day! It's not that big of a deal! But _this_…I..I just can't! It's just…I just…"

"Echo, Echo. Stop. I'm sorry I've made you upset. Forget I said anything. I don't want to upset you. And don't say that you quitting isn't that big of a deal. It is. I've very proud of you for it."

Echo calmed down and her face returned to its normal color.

"Are you okay?" Marbles asked, patting Echo's knee.

"Yeah. Thanks for dropping the subject."

"I don't want to make you upset. I was just curious about your past."

"I know. It's okay."

"Allow me to change the subject. Did you have a nice time with Ada yesterday?"

"Yeah, I really like her. She's so nice, just like you. When I woke up scared from a nightmare she was right there. And she hugged me until I calmed down."

"She hugged you?" Marbles was suddenly anxious. He knew how much Echo had fussed the first time he had hugged her, so he feared the worst.

"It was nice. It reminded me of how my mum used to hug me when I was little, before she started running around. I liked having that warm safe feeling again."

Marbles smiled at this revelation. It was clear that Echo had easily accepted Ada into her life.

"Come here, I have something to show you."

Marbles led Echo into the bathroom where he pointed to the top of the towel cabinet.

"In that duffle bag is about a week's worth of food. Most of the food is dehydrated but there is a hydrator in the bag as well. You won't have to go without a warm meal any longer."

"Wow! Thanks! Um… I've never heard of a hydrator for food before."

"They're commonly used by campers so they have a better variety of food."

"I've been camping wrong this whole time." Echo shook her head in disbelief. "Y'know, you're going to have me spoiled if they ever start to feed me here again. But, also, if they find out you've been feeding me, it won't be pretty."

"No one else normally goes in there, right?"

"Just me."

"Then you won't be found out."

"I hope Truehart doesn't go in there and find it. She can be mean."

"Speaking of Abigail, what happened to her nose?"

"Ada didn't tell you?!"

"No. What happened?"

"It's better if you _see_ it. Check the videos on Ada's phone. I recorded it. All I'll say is that Ada has the best comebacks."

They exited the bathroom and Echo sat back on the edge of her bed.

"It's almost evening…" Echo said sadly as she glanced out the window.

"You're right. I have to be going." Marbles said, just as sad as Echo that he had to leave. He began to walk to the door, but stopped. "Wait. Before I go, I'd like to try something."

"What?"

"I want you to show me you trust me."

"I do trust you!"

"I know you do. But I'd like to start trying to get you out of your shell."

"I don't have a shell. A shell implies I have somewhere where I feel safe. I don't."

"Then let me rephrase that. I want to pull you out of your reluctant, standoffish stance."

A look crossed Echo's face. She wasn't too sure where this was going.

"What are you wanting me to do, exactly?" Echo asked nervously.

Marbles held his arms out. "Just come to me."

A little reluctantly Echo stood up and walked to where Marbles was standing. He continued to hold open his arms, encouraging Echo to come closer. Finally Echo came up to him. Marbles enveloped her in a hug and Echo lightly curled her fingers into his jacket.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Marbles felt Echo shake her head no.

Marbles continued to hold her, knowing the affection would be good for her.

"Things are going to get better soon, I'm sure of it."

"I hope so. I really hope so."

**Footnotes:**

**{1}- **"The sound of silence at the table is the sign of a meal well made." – Quote seen in several of the Murder She Baked series by Joanne Fluke.


	13. Stoned

**A/N: Okay, guys, this here is chapter thirteen. Just as a note, I'm going to stop apologizing for how long it takes me to put out a chapter. I am sorry, but it just gets annoying repeating myself. I've got a whole list of excuses but I won't bore you with them. I've come to accept that my chapters are going to come when they come. You just have to keep being patient with me. Another note, I've stopped numbering footnotes. If I think you won't recognize/understand something, just check the end, it'll probably be there. The numbers just started to annoy me. Oh and I've revised prior chapters, you might want to take a peek.**

**Some important dates that have happened recently:**

**May 25: The one year anniversary of the day I started collaborating with Tari J. Deiter. Hooray! I can't believe it's been a year already. We've got a lot of exciting stuff planned for our collaboration, so keep tuned!**

**June 8 (Today): Echo's birthday. Happy birthday, Echo!**

**WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS NOT ONLY THE USUAL ABUSE, BUT SEXUAL REFERENCES AS WELL. THE REFERENCES ARE SLIGHT AND AS TONED DOWN AS POSSIBLE. THEY AREN'T **_**THAT**_** BAD, BUT YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.**

Picking Up the Broken Glass

Kawaii Stella

Chapter Thirteen

Stoned

Marbles' mind continued to process the information that Echo had entrusted him with. It was hard to picture Echo with a cigarette in her mouth. The two objects just didn't look right together. Marbles supposed it didn't really matter now. Echo had kicked that habit and gone on with her life. The thing that really bothered Marbles was the thing Echo wouldn't tell him about. Whatever it was, it was traumatizing enough to make her panic at just the thought of having to talk about it. The horrors of her past were bright in her eyes as she panicked. This worried Marbles. Just what was this thing haunting Echo so?

Multiple possibilities flitted through his mind as he walked through the doors of his preferred hardware store. After leaving the orphanage Marbles had found a friendly reminder from Ada in his voicemail to pick up a couple gallons of ivory pain to use as a basecoat in Echo's room. Ada had told him go ahead and start painting right when he got home and she would join him when she was finished with the routine maintenance checks on Motherboard.

Upon returning home, Marbles was quick to get set up in Echo's room. He decided that he would start on the wall with the windows, and quickly got to work placing blue painter's tape on the molding around the room. Popping open the first can, Marbles was greeted by the pungent aroma of the basecoat. After finishing that first wall Marbles decided that it was a bit too quiet for his liking, so before starting on the next section of wall he brought a little radio into the room and set it on a random station.

Several songs played that Marbles wasn't familiar with. Because they weren't familiar, they faded into the background while he painted. However, on the third of the five walls, a song came on that did catch his attention.

Home- Phillip Phillips

Hold on, to me as we go

As we roll down this unfamiliar road

And although this wave is stringing us along

Just know you're not alone

Cause I'm going to make this place your home 

Settle down, it'll all be clear

Don't pay no mind to the demons

They fill you with fear

The trouble it might drag you down

If you get lost, you can always be found  
>Just know you're not alone<p>

Cause I'm going to make this place your home

Settle down, it'll all be clear

Don't pay no mind to the demons

They fill you with fear

The trouble it might drag you down

If you get lost, you can always be found  
>Just know you're not alone<p>

Cause I'm going to make this place your home 

As the song faded away, Marbles smiled. That song reminded him so much of Echo.

"Echo I am going to make this place your home." He said softly.

"What's that?"

Marbles spun around to find Ada standing in the doorway.

"I was just talking to myself." Marbles told her, stepping down from the ladder. "How was your day?"

"Much more uneventful than yours, I'm sure. I only had to do the routine maintenance. I did have to call in for more cryoxide, though."

Marbles nodded. "She burns through more each week."

"So . . .," Ada urged. "Tell me how your day went. Uh-oh. What's with that face? What happened?"

"I can't wait to get her out of there, Ada. Those other kids are so terrible to her."

"You actually witnessed her being bullied!?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, I didn't get there in time to stop the worst of it."

"What did they do to her?"

"This one boy broke into her room and dragged her into the supply closet where he cut out the stitches on her side with a box cutter."

"That's terrible! I would have given that boy a piece of my mind!"

"Oh believe me, I did. I ended up pulling his arm out of socket as I threw him out of the room. I won't have it, Ada, I won't. I won't stand there and let him call Echo a-a 'Stupid little whore' and 'a dumb bitch'."

"That's despicable!"

"You're telling me! Echo's so scared of those kids, especially that Ledge boy. If I hadn't been there, I fear what other things he would have done to her."

Ada rubbed her hand up and down Marbles' back.

"Soon enough she'll be here with us, safe and sound." She reminded him.

Marbles gave her a small smile. "That's very true." He agreed.

"You've really gotten a good start on this room. Over halfway done already! Why don't you let me help you finish the other two walls?"

"You don't have to do that. You've done plenty today. You should kick back and relax."

"Nonsense! Echo is going to be my daughter too, Marbles. I'm going to go change and then I'll be right back to help you finish!"

"Oh alight, have it your way." Marbles conceded. He sat down the paint brush he'd been holding by the bristles and pulled Ada to him, kissing her on the forehead.

With a smirk Ada exited the room to go change clothes. Marbles too had a smirk on his face as he watched her go, proudly noticing his handiwork.

While Ada was out of the room, Marbles poured some more paint into the pan before pulling the bed away from the wall. Just as he began rolling on a new layer of paint onto the fourth wall, Ada came bursting into the room.

"Marbles!"

"Hm? What is it?" Marbles continued to focus on the paint, not wanting to risk fiving himself away.

"You left a handprint on my pants!"

"You must be mistaken, love. I did no such thing."

"You did too!" Ada pulled the roller brush out of his hands.

Marbles tried to hide his right hand, but Ada caught it and forced him to open his hand, revealing the dried coat of ivory paint.

"Ah-ha! Ada exclaimed.

"Oh alright, you caught me." Marbles conceded. "I couldn't help myself! The opportunity presented itself flawlessly!"

Ada rolled her eyes and playfully slapped Marbles on the cheek.

"Oh you!" She giggled. "Let's get this room done."

Ad Marbles got Ada out a brush of her own, Ada quickly snatched up the roller brush that he had been using. She wrapped her hand around the roller and then quickly slapped Marbles across the bum.

"There. Now we're even."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Echo had felt consistently uneasy since Marbles left. She wasn't safe anymore. Now that she was alone, anything could happen to her and no one would protect her. She felt safest in her little bathroom where she could lock the door from the inside. Echo spent quite a bit of time in that bathroom; especially since it was the only place she could eat in peace. She was unbelievably grateful to Marbles for leaving the duffle bag of food.

Shifting through the contents of the bag, it became a challenge for Echo to pick what to cook. At last she decided to just grab a packet at random and make it. Closing her eyes and reaching in, Echo pulled out a packet labeled "SpagBol".

Though the name was a bit off putting, Echo was going to go through with her choice. She put the indicated amount of water into the hydrator and waited for the little light to turn green. When the green light came on, Echo ripped open the SpagBol packet, pulling out what looked like a golf ball sized clump of tangled dried yarn and a quarter sized red disc. She put the disc into the right slot and dropped the clump into the water which started to burble at it boiled. The light turned red and Echo shut the lit to let whatever it was cook. While the hydrator worked its magic, Echo pulled out a bottle of water and a fork. Hopefully she could eat this stuff with a fork.

At last the little light went back to green from red. Tentatively Echo unlatched the little door on the front of the device to retrieve her meal and to discover what her meal actually was. With much relief Echo found that her meal didn't look bizarre at all! Echo pulled out the bowl and twirled some of the noodles covered in red sauce onto her fork and took a bite. She tasted the tang of the tomatoes, the savory and buttery flavor of the noodles, and a bite of something else. She could tell that the white slivers were parmesan cheese, but what was that last flavor? Then it hit her. It was a mildly spiced sausage. With all the flavors identified, Echo realized what she was eating, what this SpagBol actually was. It was spaghetti Bolognese! Echo figured it should have been obvious, but she didn't really mind. The Bolognese sauce was nearly flawless and she was going to savor every bite.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

At last Marbles and Ada had finished painting Echo's room. Finishing the last two walls had hardly taken any time at all with both working together. After a simple dinner both planned to retire early. Ada absolutely insisted Marbles shower first (though she never would explain why). He did so, and while Ada took her shower, Marbles remembered what Echo had said.

_It's better if you see it. Check the videos on Ada's phone. I recorded it. All I'll say is that Ada has the best comebacks._

Ada had left her phone on the top of the dresser. Marbles was quick to retrieve it and his laptop before returning to the bed with both. Hooking the phone up to the computer, he accessed the video files. There was only one video clip from the day before, and it was rather long, so it had to be the one. He imported a copy of the video to save onto the hard drive. Opening the video with the media player, Marbles kicked back to enjoy the show. And boy did he enjoy it!

Within seconds of the video starting, Marbles had a grin firmly plastered on his face. As Ada stepped from the shower she heard Marbles laugh and some other, quieter, voices.

_He must've turned on the television._ Ada thought to herself. But then the voices increased in clarity and familiarity until she realized one of the voices was her own.

"_You're right. Ladies don't start fights. We finish them!"_

Ada came bursting out of the bathroom.

"Marbles!" Ada shrieked. "How did you-? Where did you find that!?"

"It's recorded on your phone, love."

"Who recorded it?"

"Calm down, Ada! It was Echo who recorded it. A wise decision on her part. She was right. You _do_ have the best comebacks. Watching you take down Abigail like that, it was better than Earth Rumble Six!"

"But I was being so brutish!"

"You were not. You stood up for Echo and for yourself. Abigail deserved every hit and you fought gracefully."

Ada allowed herself a little bit of a smile as she sat daintily on the bed besides her companion. She fiddled with the belt of her robe as Marbles gently moved her wet hair to rest over her other shoulder so he could kiss her neck.

"That Abigail! She's such a cruel woman." Ada grumbled. "She doesn't care at all about those children, only about her own selfish desires!"

"All true," Marbles agreed. "I do have to say, I particularly like your sumo sized ass remark."

"Of course you would," Ada said, playfully nudging Marbles in the ribs. "What really burns me is that she really believes that she deserves you."

"There is only one woman in the world for me, and that, my dear, is you." Marbles told her.

Ada blushed and wrapped her arms around Marbles' waist, bringing her head to rest on his shoulder. Marbles held Ada to him, enjoying immensely being able to hold her so close. They never had enough moments like this.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Like usual, Echo had an extremely rough time getting to sleep. She was sore despite her painkillers and paranoid as hell knowing that Ledge could now easily let himself in her room whenever he pleased. Already bundled up in her grey sweatshirt, Echo pulled her quilt up around her, keeping her eyes on the Plexiglas window.

Hopefully Ledge wouldn't come back tonight. Hopefully. What she wouldn't give to have Ivan back at her side. He always protected her. Echo let out a long sigh. She wondered what Ivan was doing at this moment. Probably at Spetz training with the rest of their comrades. Echo knew if she ever got to go back, she'd have to face a lot of hell for missing training without word or warning. Echo always liked training. Despite the grueling regimens and sometimes frigid nights, it was often a blast because everyone liked each other and knew how to keep the mood light. Plus the results of the strength training were quite impressive. Echo guessed it very well didn't matter now. She wasn't at training and her body knew it was missing something. As much as she missed training, she missed Ivan much more.

A smile graced Echo's lips as she remembered how they had met. It was at the Highland Games, five years ago.

Five Years Ago:

**P.A.: Up next: Men's Caber Toss!**

"This is how they separate the men from the boys!" A Russian visitor told his friends.

"Hey, look at that!" Another exclaimed in his heavily accented English. "It's a chick! Do you think she's lost? This is the men's category!"

**P.A.: Next up! Representing Clan Glasgow, Echo Glasgow!**

"They've got to be joking! A girl can't compete in the men's category! What do you think about this, Braginski?"

The one called Braginski didn't speak. Instead he watched the Glasgow girl step up to the line, tightening her leather gloves as she went. He certainly did not miss how her kilt swayed with the movements of her hips. Echo took her stance, hefted the caber, and then threw. Like always, her toss made it and took the lead.

**P.A: A spectacular toss my Miss Glasgow! Hold it! I'm receiving word that this could be a new world record! And it is! Echo Glasgow is now the Guinness World Record holder for farthest successful caber toss! Let's give her a big hand!**

The spectators roared with applause.

"Braginski, you okay? You've been staring at her for a while now."

"Huh? I don't know, but I do know that one day, that woman will become my wife."

"Then go talk to her!" Braginski's friend egged him on.

"Da," you know what? I think I will!"

The tall Russian made his way through the crowd to speak with the young Scotswoman.

"H-hello. I saw your toss. It was amazing. Congratulations on the record."

"Thank you." Echo said quietly, a bit awestruck by this handsome man's presence. "My name's Echo Glasgow. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is completely mine. I'm Ivan Braginski."

"I'm on my way to my next event, but you're more than welcome to join me."

"I would love to!" The excitement of being able to go with Echo sparkled in Ivan's amethyst colored eyes. "What is your next event?"

"Archery." Echo told him. "So, where are you from, Ivan?"

"I'm from Russia."

"Oh! Nravyatsya li Vam Vashe vremya v Shotlandii?"

It took a minute for Ivan to absorb what Echo had just said. She had just asked him if he was enjoying his time in Scotland, in fluent Russian!

"Yes, very much so!" Ivan responded in English. "It is nice here, very beautiful. You speak Russian very fluently! That is a big surprise. How did you learn?"

"When I was five, my brothers told me if I hadn't gotten smart enough by the end of the school year, they were going to pack me in a box to ship me off to live in Siberia. I figured better be safe than sorry. So I started learning everything I could about Russia, including the language."

"That's very amazing! Your language skills are superb!"

Echo blushed. "Thank you. I hate to cut our conversation short, but I need to get my bow checked in. It was great meeting you, Ivan."

"Likewise. Listen, Echo, do you think you'd like to have dinner with me tomorrow evening? I hear that by tomorrow there will be more restaurant tents set up, and I'd love to get to know you better. I'll even wear a kilt for you!"

"Sure! I'd love that! My last event tomorrow is shot put. I'll change after that and meet you on the dining field. Is that okay with you?"

"It's a date! Good luck at the archery!" Ivan grinned.

Echo went through her events on cloud nine. She had a date! Usually summers were her least favorite time of the year, especially with one of her two current occupations and the person she lived with. But wild horses could pull her off this high. The next evening Echo put on a nice ankle-length skirt and an elbow length cream blouse. She decided to forgo her normal braid, electing to let her red hair fall free down her shoulder blades. Echo kept her hair back with a brown headband that matched her skirt. One last time Echo combed through her hair with her fingers before slipping her tartan sash over her shoulders. Then she was out the door on her way to her very first date.

Echo found Ivan in the nicest restaurant tent. He waved her over to a nice little table for two by a window. As Echo approached her date, she found that true to his word, Ivan was indeed wearing a kilt! Ivan held a chair out for Echo and pushed her in like a gentleman.

"You look very beautiful tonight." Ivan said as he took his seat.

Echo blushed. "Thank you. You look quite dashing in that kilt."

It was now Ivan's turn to blush. "Spasibo. Do you know what you'd like to order? I hear they serve haggis."

"Blech! I may be a Scot, but I hat haggis. I could go the rest of my life without even glancing at the stuff."

"You have to eat it often?"

"No, but I have to make it a lot. Sometimes every week in the summer."

"If you don't like it, why do you make it?"

"For my dad."

"Oh. Is he the man I saw you with earlier?"

"Average build with dark hair?"

Ivan nodded.

"Yeah, that's David-my dad."

"You seemed scared of him. He isn't mean to you, is he?"

"He gets a little rough after he's had a pint too many." Echo admitted. "Let's stop bringing down the mood and let's enjoy our date. Looks like the serve Italian too. Do you like pasta?"

"Da, pasta is good." Ivan agreed. He knew Echo was covering up something, but he let her change the subject. He didn't want to upset her on their first date.

Ivan placed their orders and as they waited the chatted about various things. Echo asked about Russia and ended up enchanted by the stories Ivan told her. Just as Ivan was finishing up telling Echo about the ensemble he traveled with, the Red Army Choir, a waiter brought them their food.

Echo and Ivan had a delightful time together that early summer night. These two, who had been smitten at first sight, were obviously in love. They stayed together until nearly midnight. They walked around hand in hand, enjoying each other's company.

"I really hate that I'm not going to be able to stay here for the entire Games." Ivan admitted.

"You aren't staying?" Echo's heart sunk.

"We're leaving early the morning after next. Tomorrow is my last day here. I'll still be cheering you on all the way though."

"I hate for this to be such short lived." Echo said sadly.

"It doesn't have to be. We can still write each other."

"I'd love that." Echo smiled. "See me tomorrow and I'll give you my addresses."

"Addresses? You have more than one?"

"I live with my father in the summer and the rest of the year with my mum."

"Oh! That is making the sense! Echo don't let him bully you. You deserve better."

Echo looked up at Ivan. "I think that's why I met you."

Ivan's face turned red in his deepest blush of the night. When Ivan had returned Echo to where she was staying, he bent down to kiss her on the lips.

"Sleep well, moi liubila."

The moment Echo had returned to the sanctuary of her bedroom she broke out in a grin that stretched from ear to ear.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Moi liubila," Echo murmured into her pillow. "My love. Oh Ivan! I miss you, my love."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Around down the next morning, a large storm system began to push its way towards Sensible Flats. Echo awoke to dark gray skies and rumbling in the distance. The sound was kind of soothing.

Quite leisurely Echo rose from bed and rummaged through the duffel bag for breakfast. After eating she swallowed her medicine and went about choosing her apparel for the day. Echo had just pulled on an aqua waffle long sleeve shirt and tied her tennis shoes when Abigail burst into the room.

"Wonderful! You're up and ready to go! Your visitor is waiting for you in the visitor's yard."

Immediately Echo got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. If her visitor was waiting in the visitor's yard, then her visitor was not Dr. Marbles or Miss Ada. They always came to her room. Echo feverently hoped she was wrong, but she knew deep down that it was Solomon Quinn waiting for her.

The slick businessman was dressed in a charcoal grey suit with a silver necktie, his black hair coifed, slicked back with a shiny gel. He plastered a platinum smile on his face as Echo approached.

"Good morning, Echo! Isn't this a most splendiferous day?"

"I guess," Echo mumbled as she tried not to make eye contact.

"There's no need to be shy! I know my enhanced vocabulary is more voluptuous than most, but you should not let that intimidate you! Come! Let's take a walk, shall we?"

Quinn took a firm hold of Echo's arm and began to pull her away. Echo's heart was beating as fast as it could as he led her around the courtyard. As they walked Quinn rambled on and on about meaningless things all the while the sky above continued to get darker and darker. A clap of thunder pealed across the sky.

"T-The thunder is really getting loud. Maybe it's best we go back inside now." Echo said, wanting to get away from her visitor.

"Nonsense! Don't you know that for every second between claps of thunder the storm is ten miles away? The storm's at least seventy miles away from us right now! We won't let these gray skies ruin our quality time together!"

Echo said nothing even though she knew he was wrong.

"Come down here with me, young lady, so we can have some privacy."

Quinn pulled Echo down the alleyway where Ledge had proposed that she be his queen. This situation was eerily similar. Quinn cornered Echo, preventing her escape.

Quinn looked down at the young woman. She was slender and lean with a hint of muscle, meaning that she would wear easily. Her eyes were wide and so very innocent. Her petite curves were nice too. Quinn looked at Echo like a prized toy before he caressed her face.

"You're such a prey thing. You don't have to live in that sparse solitary, you know. I'm a very rich and powerful man. With me you'd be living poshly in pleasure. Wouldn't that be fantastic?"

Quinn rested both hands below Echo's collarbone but above her diaphragm and gave a series of squeezes there. Echo whimpered in discomfort and fear which Quinn found intoxicating. He moved in closer while moving one hand south. Another set of movements had Quinn's entire body pressed completely against Echo's tiny frame. Echo suddenly felt an obtrusive object touch her and she was sure she was done for.

Lightning streaked across the sky followed by a deafening blast of thunder. Large pellets of rain began to fall from the sky.

"Solomon!"

Both Solomon's and Echo's heads whipped towards the head of the alley to see Abigail standing there, hands on her hips. She scurried down the way and pulled Quinn away from Echo.

"Solomon! Don't you think it's kind of early for this? Why don't you and I step inside the shed for a nice talk?" Abigail raised her eyebrows and ran her hands down the man's chest.

"Yeah . . . alright." Solomon agreed in a sultry tone.

Before following her man friend into the garden shed, Abigail gave Echo a stern look and said,

"You stay right there and don't go anywhere!"

When the shed door had been shut tight, Echo sunk down to the wet ground and hugged herself. She was already thoroughly soaked to the bone. Echo shook as she heard the constant booms of thunder along with a lot of moaning and groaning. At one point Abigail poked her head out and screamed for Echo to go back to her cell. Echo did not hesitate, running as fast as she could to the room marked solitary.

For several minutes Echo just stood against the back of her door, scared and in shock. When the cold set in her wits came back and told her to dress in something warm. Echo made haste in dressing in some baggy pajama pants and a heather grey crew neck fleece sweatshirt. It was probably lunchtime but Echo didn't have an appetite. So instead of eating Echo hung up her wet clothes to dry in her shower. Just after she had put her now dry clothes in the laundry bin, the cell door come open with a bang almost as loud as the thunder outside.

In the doorway stood Ledge's goons. Even without Ledge they outnumbered Echo four to one. They approached fast. Out of desperation Echo dove underneath her bed. This proved to do little good as the boys grabbed Echo by the ankles and pulled her out. Clawing at the concrete did nothing, and soon enough she was drawn back into the light, and pain.

The next day was just as terrible. Yesterday had Echo so shaken up. The desperation had come back so strongly that, for the first time ever since her arrival on Sensible Flats, Echo didn't bother to change her clothes. She spent the day weighed down by misery, occasionally holing up in the bathroom to eat. Echo ate several more food packets than she normally did. She knew she'd be smart to ration her food supply, but she couldn't help it. She _had_ to eat.

The first time she went into the bathroom she cooked PadThai. The second time she made SpagBol. The third time around it was VegiRice. Echo assured herself that it was OK to eat like this because of the weather. The massive storm had stick around for day two. Before Echo could make a fourth meal her door crashed open again. Echo wondered if anybody was bothering to lock the door anymore of if it was only locked to her.

In stormed Samantha, Dior, Alice, and Emma. Each was dressed in a brightly colored raincoat and matching rubber rain boots.

"Hey, slut, we heard what happened yesterday." Emma smirked.

"You tried to hook up with that businessman, you whore!" Dior remarked.

"Of course we know nothing happened. Ms. Truehart was the one who actually did it with that guy. But since it was almost you that makes you one very slutty whore. I bet you were begging him to take you!" Alice teased.

Echo turned red in the face.

"She's blushing because she knows it's true!" Samantha laughed. "You know what they used to do to whores in the old days, right? They stoned them. Since you are a whore, you will be punished as such. It is time for your stoning! Grab her, girls!"

Emma, Dior, and Alice subdued Echo and dragged her out into the pouring rain. Lighting cut across the sky strike after strike after strike. It was obvious that this had been thought out. Almost every orphan was in attendance, even some of the little ones, five and six years old. The girls tethered Echo to a wooden pole, hands behind her back.

Samantha and her crew threw the first stones then called forth the other kids to participate in the punishment. Hundreds of stones were thrown, many hitting at least some part of their mark. Some of the rocks thrown were not even rocks at all. They were chunks of concrete from the crumbling perimeter wall.

Eventually the other children lost interest and went inside, leaving Echo tied to the pole. Echo was left alone, trapped in the rain, until one little girl came back outside. This little girl had bright blue eyes and dark blonde hair. She held a small pair of craft scissors in her hands.

"I'm going to cut the rope away, okay?" The little girl said quietly.

"Thank you very much." Echo managed to smile at the little girl. "What's your name, kid?"

"Molly."

"That's a very pretty name. It's a popular name where I came from. I'm. . ."

"Echo. I know who you are. Where are you from?"

"I'm from Scotland. It's at the top of the United Kingdom on Earth."

"That's really far away."

"Yeah, it is. How old are you, Molly?"

"I'm four years old."

"You're really smart for a four year old. That's great."

Molly smiled, and then frowned. "This rope is really tough."

"See how the rope is several little sections together? Tackle one section at the time."

Molly did and found it a lot easier.

"Why are you helping me, Molly?"

"'Cause I know you aren't like how the other big kids say you are. You're nice. And you color really pretty pictures too."

"You've seen my art?"

"I found one of your pictures in the play yard. I keep it in my teddy bear. I can give it back if you want."

"You can keep it."

"You really mean that?" Thanks!" Molly was obviously delighted by this.

At last the sturdy rope fell apart and Echo rubbed her wrists.

"Whaddya say we go dry off, eh, Molly?"

Echo held out her hand to the little girl and she took it, delighted that a big kid was paying attention to her. They went to Echo's cell where Echo brought out some dry towels from the bathroom. Molly mentioned that Truehart hadn't been around at all today. Echo knew then that Abigail had gone out to celebrate her success from yesterday. Echo picked up Molly and sat her on the table and dried the little girl off with one of the black towels.

"How come your towels are black, Echo? The towels we use aren't black."

"I don't know why, Sweetie." Echo answered honestly.

"How long have you been drawing for?"

"Oh, quite a long time, since I was your age, I guess."

"Could you draw something for me right now?"

Echo couldn't refuse those sparkling blue eyes. "Sure. Why not? What do you want me to draw?"

"Flowers!"

Echo dug out her sketchpad and pencils and sat down on her bed. Molly curled up into Echo's left side and watched Echo draw. Echo drew several pages of all kinds of flowers. She carefully tore out each page so Molly could take them with her to color. Watching Echo draw was soothing to Molly, and soon it began lulling her to sleep.

"Molly?" Echo said softly. "What room are you in?"

"B. As in butterfly."

"Okay, honey. Are you ready for a nap?"

Molly nodded. Echo handed her the sketches before picking the toddler up. Molly wrapped her legs around Echo's waist and wrapped her little arms around her neck. Echo quietly carried the little girl to her room where she tucked her into bed and let her sleep in peace.

Echo returned to her cell and collapsed onto her bed. She finally let the pain come through. She felt like she had been run over by a truck. It hurt to move. It hurt to breathe. And the words in her head hurt her feelings. Her stomach growled and she forced herself to hobble into the bathroom where she cooked a package of SwedeBalls. In the course of eating that first bowl, one of Echo's memories from her childhood came back and slapped her in the face. It had been a Friday, and she had been in the first grade. One of her classmates came up to her as she was stuffing her backpack to go home.

"_Hey, Echo, are you excited for the Daddy-Daughter dance tomorrow night?"_

"_I'm not going," Echo had replied softly._

"_Oh yeah, that's right, you don't have a daddy."_

"_I do too have a daddy! He's just . . . not around." _

"_Hmph. Whatever."_

"She was right." Echo said around a bite of meatball. Her voice cracked. "I don't have a daddy. Not one that cares."

Echo did not resist her emotions as they rushed towards her. She also didn't resist a second bowl of SwedeBalls.

The next morning Echo was woken up by a gentle shake to the shoulder. Echo's eyes squeezed tightly together before finally opening. She looked over her shoulder to find Dr. Marbles sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Good morning." He said with a smile.

"Good morning! You're here really early!" Echo said, sitting up quickly.

"Not really. It's nine-thirty."

"What! I can't believe I slept so late."

"A rainy day is a good day to sleep in." Marbles assured her.

Echo looked out the little barred window to see that it was, in fact, still raining. Marbles saw a large bump and gash on Echo's temple and gently brushed his fingers over it, causing Echo to wince.

"Got thrown to the wolves again, didn't you?"

Instead of answering Echo laid back down and curled up, her back towards Marbles. Her eyes started to gloss over and she tugged up her quilt. That was answer enough for Marbles.

"What happened, sweetheart?"

"I'm not a whore! Slut, slut, slut, they kept calling me a slut! I'm not a slut! I'm married! I've always been faithful! I've never cheated on him! I love him! I'm not a slut!" Echo cried.

"I know you're not." Marbles said gently. "You're a good girl." He pulled Echo upright and nestled her safely into his side. "Who picked on you this time, Echo?"

"The girls I roomed with when I first got here. They kept calling me a slut and a whore over and over. They got the other kids to call me that too. It's not true but it still hurts."

"Of course it hurts. How'd you get all these bumps, cuts, and bruises?"

"They said I was a whore and I got stoned for it!"

"Stoned?"

"Not stoned as in high on drugs, but stoned in the biblical sense. They tied me to a pole and threw rocks and concrete at me."

Marbles held Echo tighter. She held onto him for dear life. This was unbelievable. Things were getting way too far out of hand.

"I know this is a long shot," Marbles began. "But did Abigail say or do anything at all?"

Echo shook her head. "She wasn't here at all yesterday."

"Figures." Marbles sighed.

Marbles spent the rest of the day reminding Echo that she was a good girl and that she was cared about. He worked hard trying to get her spirits up from the gutter they were in. He'd tell her stories about different things he thought she'd like to keep her mind off of her pain. Echo remained at his side nearly the entire visit. She felt safest this way. Before he left for the day Marbles restocked Echo's food supply. After reminding her again that he cared about her and things would get better soon, he left for home, but not before checking the progress of the adoption papers.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

A week passed and Echo didn't see Dr. Marbles again. She didn't see Ada either. Echo began to grow worried as more time passed and she didn't see her friends. Echo quickly began to worry that they didn't care anymore and that she had yet again been abandoned. What had she done to make them angry? Why weren't they coming to see her anymore? Echo just didn't understand.

At Control Central, Ada and Marbles had been busy getting things situated for Echo. They had been putting furniture in her bedroom as well as putting some things into the room that would become her art studio. The couple had become very secretive and had not let anyone else in on their plans to become parents. Their secretiveness and their busy bee attitudes had sparked curiosity in others around them.

As days passed the two became more and more anxious. Any time the telephone rang their adrenaline would rush and their hearts would pound in excitement, hoping that the call would contain the good news they had been waiting so long for.

One afternoon Marbles was fixing the rusting cap on Motherboard's cryoxide tank while Ada read a book. Digit was assisting Marbles when his cell phone rang. Marbles and Ada were again met by the rush of excitement as they rushed from the room to answer the call in privacy.

"Hello? This is Dr. Marbles." Marbles answered.

"Marbles, its Judge Trudy. I've got some good news for you."

A grin spread across Marbles' face. "Yes?"

"The adoption papers have gone through. They're all authorized and ready to go."

"That's wonderful!" Marbles exclaimed and Ada grabbed his arm. "When can we get her?"

"You can come and get her tomorrow morning. Pick her up from the orphanage and then come down to the courthouse. There we'll finalize it."

"Alright, thank you! We'll be there!"

Marbles hung up and picked Ada up in a giant hug.

"Well, Dr. Marbles, Lady Ada, are you going to tell us what's been going on?" Motherboard asked as Marbles and Ada re-entered the Control Room.

Marbles and Ada looked at each other and nodded.

Marbles wrapped an arm around Ada's waist and smiled. "Tomorrow Ada and I are becoming parents."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Finally. This was his chance! She was actually asleep! Ledge didn't get why Echo continued to lock the door when she knew he could pick it. As silently as possible Ledge picked the lock and heard the tumblers click into place. In the dark of the night Ledge let himself into the cell, making a bee-line straight for Echo's bed.

Echo had continued her habit sleeping at the other end of the bed nearer to the bathroom so when she was awake she could see who was coming for her. Unlike most nights, Echo was soundly asleep and hadn't a clue what was coming for her. Ledge crawled over top of Echo, bending down to kiss her on the lips.

Echo woke with a start from one nightmare only to enter into another. She found Ledge kissing her and her emerald colored eyes instantly dilated with fear as she realized he was straddled over her.

"Hey baby," Ledge said with a smirk, leaning away from her face.

Echo bolted upright, trapped against the cold concrete wall. Curling up into a ball, Echo tried to find an escape as Ledge crawled closer to her.

"You are all mine now," Ledge said with a grin. As he got a little closer to Echo, she decided to try the same move she had already used on Abigail Truehart's face. Using both feet, Echo was able to kick Ledge right in the face, stunning him and forcing him back far enough to scramble off of the bed into the safety of the bathroom.

Echo spent the rest of the night sleeping in her shower on a makeshift bed she had created out of wadded up towels. Far too early for her liking Echo heard her name being called from her room. Cautiously Echo opened the door to find Ms. Truehart standing there nicely dressed in a blue dress with peach colored accents.

"Why aren't you dressed yet? Hurry up and get dressed! This is a big, big, day! You're getting adopted today!"

**Unfamiliar Terms:**

**SpagBol – Spaghetti Bolognese **

**PadThai – Pad Thai**

**VegiRice – Veggies and Rice**

**SwedeBalls – Swedish Meatballs**

**(All four foods from the book "Uglies" by Scott Westerfield)**

**Earth Rumble Six – Underground Earthbending Tournament in Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Da – Russian for "yes"**

**Нравятся ли Вам****Ваше время****в Шотландии****? – Are you enjoying your time in Scotland?**

**Spasibo – Thank you**

**Moi Liubila – My love**


	14. A Brand New Beginning

**A/N: **Hi guys! Here's the next chapter! I know it took way too long to do, but I can't help it. These chapters will finish when they finish. I've also been working on a lot of ideas with Tari J. Dieter for our collaboration. We're so excited with some of the things we've come up with! We hope you'll share our excitement when the time comes! On another note, this chapter marks the end of Arc I. Yay! Now on to more exciting things! Next chapter will begin with kind of a shock, so stay tuned! And thanks to those of you who helped me through this chapter!

Picking Up the Broken Glass

Kawaii Stella

Chapter Fourteen

A Brand New Beginning

"Are you going to move or just sit there and stare at me like I'm an idiot?"

Echo was thoroughly in shock. "A-adopted? I'm getting adopted?" she stuttered.

"Did I speak in French? Yes you're getting adopted! You have twenty minutes to get ready. You hear me? Twenty. Then you and I are going to have a little talk. Now hurry!"

Echo scrambled into the bathroom where she rapidly washed off and brushed her teeth.

Adopted! She was getting adopted! Echo was so excited that her heart pounded in her chest. It was physically painful for her heart to thrash about like this, but Echo was so thrilled she didn't mind. Echo wanted to look nice for her new family, so she dug up her nicest clothes which happened to be a dark pair of skinny jeans and a dark teal sweater which unfortunately showed a small part of the still bruised and nasty looking scar from her heart surgery. She paired this outfit with a pair of black flats she'd forgotten she'd stashed at the bottom of her trunk.

Who were the people adopting her? Echo wondered. What were they like? Were they nice? Caring? Was it her real family come back to reclaim her and admit their mistake? Echo figured not, but she knew who she hoped _wouldn't_ be the one waiting for her outside and she knew who she really wished _would_ be there. Just as she was brushing her hair, Abigail returned.

"Alright, child, listen up." Abigail snapped at Echo. "Something has happened."

Echo's spirits fell. "I'm not getting adopted?"

"Oh, you're getting adopted all right, but a rather unique situation has arisen. Two different families have come to adopt you. This has never happened before in the history of this esteemed orphanage. It was decided by Judge Trudy that the final decision will fall into your little hands. Now, let me bestow upon you a few pearls of wisdom.

One of these families here is highly esteemed. They are capable of giving you everything you could ever need. I urge you to pick the family that will, without a shadow of a doubt, give you the best and most care. Am I understood?"

Echo nodded.

"Then summarize what I just told you."

"Yes ma'am. There are two families that are here to adopt me. I must pick one of them. I am to choose the family that can give me the best care possible."

"Very good! Now, before we go . . ." Abigail whacked Echo on the head. "Always remember just how worthless you really are. Drop the 'miss independent' act. You're fooling no one! Let's go. There are people waiting."

Abigail led Echo through the hall and into the lobby. There the caretaker took to steering Echo by the shoulders, keeping the girl on a very certain path. Abigail was acting like blinders on a horse, Echo, of course, being the horse. The way Abigail kept hold on Echo kept her from looking anywhere but straight ahead. The first think Echo saw upon exiting the building was the very last thing she wanted to see. Her worst nightmare, or one of them, at least, stood right before her.

They stood there, the image of imitated perfection. They were the Quinns, Solomon and his wife April. Both were dressed impeccably in designer clothes. Solomon wore a two piece suit and lavender tie. His tie perfectly matched his wife's blouse which showed off her ample cleavage. April's tennis skirt and heels boosted the appearance of her derriere.

"Echo, this is the family that's come to adopt you!" Abigail said cheerfully.

Echo stood cold in her tracks. The blood rushed in her ears. The worst case scenario was happening live right before her! Echo couldn't do it. She couldn't live with these people! Especially not with _him_. He'd destroy her. The panic started to set in. Echo felt like she was going to faint. But wait . . . weren't there supposed to be two families here to adopt her?"

"Ahem!"

Echo's heart sped up when she heard that familiar sound of that familiar voice. She wheeled out of Abigail's grasp and moved so she could peer around the woman. Moving away from Abigail, Echo discovered who the other family was.

"And this is the other couple who wishes to adopt you." Abigail said less than pleasantly. "Choose wisely."

Standing there was Dr. Marbles with his arm around Ada's shoulders. Echo's heart swelled with joy as her features lit up with excitement. One last time she turned to look behind her at her other option. She then turned on her heel to look once more at Marbles and Ada. A grin exploded on Echo's face as she began to run right into Marbles' arms. Marbles kept one arm around Echo while the other one went back around Ada's shoulders. Ada put a hand on Echo's shoulder.

"This is my choice." Echo declared proudly. "_This _is my family."

Abigail and Solomon had to work hard to keep their faces composed. April stood there clueless as usual. Abigail could barely control her disgust. After a moment or three she finally spoke.

"Are you sure about this?" Abigail asked.

"I'm absolutely positive." Echo assured the woman.

"Very well. Go to the courthouse and sign the papers. Then you can come and get your stuff."

With that, Abigail sashayed back into the orphanage.

"Come on, let's go get those papers signed!" Marbles told Echo with a smile. He was just as excited as she was.

Echo let Marbles and Ada lead her down the street to the courthouse. But before they could take ten steps, someone grabbed Echo by the collar.

"Echo, now, I think you should rethink this! Wouldn't you rather come with me?"

It was Solomon Quinn who had hold of Echo's shirt collar. Spooked, Echo jolted away from him.

"Please don't touch me!" Echo begged. "Please just leave me alone."

Clinging to Ada, Echo trembled in fear of this man. Ada held Echo to her, unsure of why Echo was so afraid.

"Come on, be smart about this! Come home with me and April. You've fooled around quite enough. Let's go."

Solomon reached to pull Echo off of Ada. However, before Solomon could pull Echo away, Marbles had him by the wrist.

"Back off." Marbles warned. "Or did you not hear her say 'don't touch me'?"

"You, sir," Solomon growled through clenched teeth, "need to mind your business and let me take the girl."

"Echo's wellbeing _is_ my business and from the way she's acting, she doesn't want you anywhere near her. So I'll reiterate. Stay. Away. From. My. Daughter."

"She's not your daughter yet, so she's still up for grabs." Solomon tried to pull his wrist free but Marbles held tight. "Give me the girl."

"No!" Marbles said before give Solomon's wrist a harsh jerk, breaking the bone in two or three places with an audible crack. "Leave Echo alone."

Solomon hunched over, almost falling to his knees. He made a sound comparable to a pre-teen girl's squeal over her pop idol as he clutched his arm in pain.

Marbles gently pried Echo off of Ada and with a hand on her back, got her back on the path to the courthouse.

"You broke his hand. I heard the bone snap!" Echo looked up at Marbles, her eyes wide.

"Well . . . I . . . Uhm . . ." Marbles stuttered at an obvious lack of words.

Echo grinned. "That was awesome!"

Marbles smiled back. Echo gave a light but excited tug to his arm, silently telling him to pick of the pace. All three hurried into the courthouse. Judge Trudy waited there with the final stack of adoption papers.

"Ya'll just sign these papers and yer home free." Trudy told them. "Before I can give you these papers, though, I have a question."

"What is it?" Ada's head tilted to the side in questioning.

"Since you two aren't married yet, I need to know which one of you will be Echo's primary guardian."

Marbles and Ada looked at each other. Echo looked at each of them, waiting to hear the answer.

"I'll be her primary guardian." Marbles answered.

"Alright then, fill these out and ya'll can be on your way."

Echo sat between Marbles and Ada at a table and watched Marbles as he started going through the papers. He produced and ink pen, signing where required. Sometimes he'd pass a page or two to Ada for her to sign. Then, as the paper stack dwindled, Marbles placed a page in front of Echo.

"Okay, Echo, this is it." Marbles said excitedly, placing his pen in her hand. "It's your turn."

Echo looked down at the paper before her and began to study it. At the bottom were x's and lines for signatures and dates. Marbles had already printed and signed his name. There were identical spots for her to do the same.

Echo returned her gaze to the top of the page so to read what she was signing for. Boy, there was a lot of tiny print! Echo had to squint to see it clearly. Marbles quickly noticed the difficulty Echo was having with the size of the print.

"You are supposed to be wearing glasses, aren't you?" he asked gently.

"Just for driving in bad weather . . . and ridiculously tiny legal print." Echo said. "How'd you know about my glasses?"

"I've read some of your medical file."

"Oh."

Marbles pulled the glasses off of his face and slipped them on to Echo's face. "There, try my glasses."

The red framed glasses were a tad too big on Echo's face. They slipped down her nose and Ada giggled at the cuteness besides her. Echo pushed the glasses back up her nose, holding them up with one hand.

"Whoa!" Echo breathed. "These are like my brother's glasses. They're much too strong for me." She blinked a few times before giving them back to Marbles. "Thanks, but I can manage without."

"You have a brother?" Ada asked as Marbles put his glasses back on.

Echo nodded. "Three of them, actually."

"Oh, yes, I remember you mentioning them, but I don't think you ever mentioned their names." Marbles jumped in.

"Angus, Seamus, and Liam." Echo answered. Her tone of voice said she didn't wants to talk about her brothers any more than that.

To Echo's great relief, Marbles and Ada both picked up on her signals and said not another word of the subject. Echo returned her focus to deciphering the miniscule legal print. As the little words came into focus, Echo's brow furrowed as her fingers clenched around the warm silver barrel of the ink pen.

"I'm changing my name?" Echo asked confusedly.

Marbles realized that this slightly upset Echo.

"It's mostly just a formality, saying that you're part of this family now." He assured her. "The only reason you actually have to sign is because you're over fifteen."

"I guess I should have known this was coming." Echo admitted.

Ada looked at Marbles wondering how he would calm Echo down.

Marbles put a comforting arm around Echo. "Hyphenate your last name. That way you'll still be able to go by Glasgow."

Echo looked up at him, the twinkle back in her eyes. "Really?"

Marbles nodded and smiled. Echo started to write and sign her name, only to stop when she got to Marbles' last name.

". . .Shovat. You don't go by your last name." Echo realized.

"I just prefer to go by Marbles." He explained.

"I get it. I'm no stranger to stage names." Echo assured him. She then printed her new name and signed the last dotted line, "Echo Sidney Glasgow-Shovat."

"And that, my dear, is that." Marbles said, giving Echo a squeeze before gathering up the papers. Judge Trudy told him to take the paper work with them to the orphanage for Abigail to sign as they gathered Echo's things.

Echo's excitement continued as Marbles led the way back to the orphanage. This was it. Her last trip to the orphanage, the end of the abuse! Marbles gave the papers to Abigail who forlornly slipped behind the front desk to retreat into her office. Inside Echo's cell, Echo was bubbling full of excitement.

With them Marbles and Ada had brought a small suitcase and a duffle bag to store Echo's few belongings. Echo was almost jittery she was so happy. She could hardly focus enough to help her new parents pack her things.

"I can't believe it!" Echo breathed excitedly. "I can't believe I'm getting out of here!"

Marbles and Ada chuckled and exchanged large smiles. Marbles pulled Echo in for another hug, kissing her on top of her head.

"Believe it. It's true. We're a family now." He reminded her.

Echo's felt her cheeks lift up in a smile as she continued to help Ada sort her things. Ada had already stripped the bed of the blankets Echo had brought with her, and was refolding her clothes to stack in the suitcase. Echo handed her other, non-clothing things to Marbles who stored them in the dufflebag.

"There's one thing I don't get." Echo admitted.

"What's that, sweetie?" Ada asked.

"How come neither of you told me that you were going to adopt me?"

"Marbles, I thought you told her!"

"I left a letter for you, Echo, explaining everything." Marbles said.

"When did you leave it?" Echo asked him.

"The day I took you to see Dr. Kasal."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I never found a letter."

"It's alright, Echo. It's not your fault. I have a feeling I know what happened to it."

"At least it wasn't that you couldn't tell me because of one of those silly secret rules."

"Secret rules?" Marbles questioned. "What are these secret rules?"

"Um, well, I was never supposed to talk about you to other visitors and I wasn't supposed to tell you about other visitors."

"What a strange rule!" Ada said.

Echo shrugged. "I guess it doesn't matter now." She smiled to herself. "I've been adopted and that's that."

Ada patted her back. "That's right."

Marbles went into the bathroom to get the other dufflebag and Echo's toiletries. Coming out he said,

"Well, I do believe that's it. Is there anything else left to get, Echo?"

"No, I think we got everything. Except for the stuff stored at the courthouse." Echo said.

"Then let's go."

Exiting her cell for the absolute last time Echo let out a sigh of contentment.

"I'm not going to miss this place at all." Echo declared.

Abigail handed over the papers with an obviously fake smile on her face. She held the papers so tightly that Marbles had to jerk them from her hand.

"You didn't listen to me." Abigail said to Echo between clenched teeth.

"Huh? But you told me to pick the family that would give me the best care, and that's what I did. I picked the family that would give the most love, without a shadow of a doubt." Echo answered.

Marbles beamed proudly. Ada looked like she wanted to yell, "IN YOUR FACE!" at Abigail. They all turned to walk away from Abigail and out the door. But before crossing the threshold, Echo stopped and went into the sitting area where she dropped to her knees and held open her arms as a little blonde girl leapt into them, wrapping her arms around Echo's neck. Ada pulled Marbles on out through the door, so to give the two some privacy.

"Bye-bye, Echo." Molly said into the teen's shoulder.

Echo gave Molly a tight hug. "'Bye, Molly. You'll go to a good home one day. I know it."

"You deserve this more than any of us." Molly said. "You deserve that good family out there."

"Please. It's all just an act." Ledge said from behind.

Echo and Molly turned around. Echo glared up at Ledge. "Now that's not true! They do love me!"

Ledge shrugged. "Maybe for some strange reason they do. But it's not like you'll fit in. _You_ are a human. _They_ are cyborgs. Well, at least he is."

"I don't care about that! All that matters is that they love me."

Ledge laughed. "You're so stupid." He said before stalking off.

Molly and Echo said goodbye one more time and hugged before Echo went to rejoin Marbles and Ada. The three of them returned to the courthouse where they turned in the paperwork. Judge Trudy stamped the papers, finalizing the adoption and making it official. She gave Marbles his copies before going to the vault and returning Echo's last bag to her.

Judge Trudy pulled Echo to her for a quick hug. As much as Echo didn't want to be touched, she tolerated this because she respected the Judge after all she had done to help her out.

"Congratulations Echo. If anyone deserves this second chance, it's you." Trudy told her assistant.

"Thanks Judge." Echo said quietly. With a little wave she left with her new parents, into a new chapter of her life.

Marbles led his two favorite ladies back to his cybercoupe where they loaded in Echo's belongings. He opened the passenger's side door like a true gentleman, letting Echo slide in to the middle first, Ada sliding in next to her. Getting into the driver's seat, Marbles started the ignition and the craft lifted off of the ground. Echo jumped a bit. She hadn't known what to expect this craft to do, and was a bit startled at take off. Ada immediately noticed Echo's uneasiness and took one of the girl's hands to hold.

Echo seemed to immediately relax after Ada took her hand. This was something Marbles noticed right off the bat and was extremely pleased to see. Not only was Echo bearing physical contact, she was letting herself grow attached to who he hoped she would come to accept as her mother. Marbles loved watching Echo's wide green eyes take in everything around her. This was Echo's maiden voyage across Cyberspace, her first conscious time off of Sensible Flats. Everything was new and fascinating for her.

"Is that a Mobius Strip?" Echo asked, looking out the passenger's side window.

"That's correct. That is Cybersite Mobius." Marbles informed her. "Would you like to check it out?"

"Can we?" Echo's eyes seemed to grow bigger with excitement.

"Of course."

Marbles touched down on Cybersite Mobius and let Echo wonder around the deserted site. Echo took in everything around her. She looked up in the sky, seeing other Cybersites far in the distance. She studied the ground beneath her feet, taking in every little detail. Ambling around, she came to the edge of the strip where she got down on her knees to look down below and under the strip. Marbles, who this whole time had been holding hands with Ada, released his beloved to go to the edge opposite Echo and mimic her actions.

When Echo first spotted him, her lips formed an "O" as she made a noise of the same sound. Then the "O" turned into a grin as she burst into a tiny fit of giggles. Returning herself to an upright position, Marbles came over and helped her to her feet.

"Ready to go now?" he asked.

Echo nodded, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, her cheeks a rosy pink. They took off again, continuing their journey across only a section of the massive expanses of Cyberspace. They passed a handful more Cybersites, but one, quite a distance away, caught Echo's eyes more than the rest.

She couldn't quite explain it. It was if it was calling out her name, beaconing to her to come to it. Deep down Echo felt like something was waiting for her there. Something . . . important.

"What Cybersite is that?" she asked at last.

"That one? That's Shangri-La, dear." Ada told her.

_Shangri-La. . . _Echo thought, unable to shake those inexplicable feelings.

Then, before she knew it, she was facing a very unique structure, like none other she had seen before. It was huge and had an air of importance around it.

"Echo," Marbles spoke gently, though the excitement was detectable in his voice, "this is Control Central. Your new home."

"Home. . ." Echo said quietly. Ada squeezed her hand as Marbles opened the door to the hangar and landed the coupe without a hitch.

Marbles removed Echo's bags from the trunk and carried them to the door where he set them down.

"Let's start the tour and then we'll pick up your bags on our way back to the housing sector, okay?"

"O-okay." Echo said a bit nervously. She felt better once Marbles had wrapped an arm around her shoulders and once Ada started holding her hand.

They led her up some stairs and down different hallways, showing her what each room was. There were all kinds of rooms, utility rooms, storage rooms, access rooms, there was even a garden. Marbles showed Echo one of his workshops, which was huge. More rooms later they came to the main control room, where the leader of Cyberspace resided. The big sliding doors opened with a hiss. Marbles and Ada ushered Echo inside.

"Welcome back, Dr. Marbles, Lady Ada." Motherboard said with a warm smile. "Who is this?"

Echo shrank into Marbles side.

"Motherboard, this is Echo." Marbles said proudly. "My," he looked at Ada. "Our daughter."

"Hello, Echo." Motherboard addressed the girl warmly.

"H-hi." Spoke Echo shyly. Her heart pounded in her chest. _I know he said he was a technician, but he certainly failed to mention he was the technician for the leader of Cyberspace! _

Despite Echo's shyness, Marbles was beaming.

"Is Digit not here?" Marbles asked, looking around the room.

"He's currently with the Cybersquad." Motherboard told him.

"Ah, well, I guess you'll have to meet him later, Echo."

Echo nodded. Marbles could tell she wanted to get out of there, and promptly excused the three of them to show Echo the rest of the complex. At last they made it to the housing sector. They had retrieved Echo's bags and entered the house from the hangar entrance. By the time they crossed the threshold into the house, Echo was about dead on her feet. She just didn't have enough stamina.

"Oh, Echo, you're exhausted, aren't you?" Marbles noticed.

Echo put on a brave face. "It's okay, I'm fine, I can handle it."

"Honey, there's no need to push yourself this hard. It'll just mess with your recovery."

"I'll be okay. I can handle it." Echo insisted, but the firm tone she tried to produce was undermined by weariness.

"No need to." Marbles passed Echo's computer bag to Ada, who had been pulling along the suitcase with both dufflebags stacked on top. Slipping one arm around her back and the other under her knees, Marbles scooped up his daughter into his arms bridal style.

Though a bit surprised, Echo settled with wrapping her arms around Marbles' neck and resting her head on his shoulder. He carried her around the house, showing her each room, from the kitchen to the living room. In the living room Ada had Marbles momentarily sit Echo down.

"What are you up to, Ada?" Marbles asked.

"I haven't taken a picture yet!"

"Of what?"

"Of you and Echo, of course! This is her first day home. First day with you as her father! This needs to be captured!"

"Alright, alright." Marbles conceded. He wrapped his arms around Echo, holding her so her back was pressed to his chest. Both smiled as Ada took the picture.

Then Marbles returned to carrying Echo and the tour continued, to his room to random closets. They showed Echo the room they thought she'd like for a studio, and Echo liked the idea a lot. There were many guest bedrooms, the Remote Access Control Room, and even a private library. The library had so many books Echo could only look around in amazement. At last they had one room to see. In front of this room, Marbles sat Echo back down on her feet. The door swished open, and all stepped inside.

"This is your room, Echo." Marbles told her.

Echo stepped further into her room, looking around in awe. The room was so nice. Spacious and light with a nice window with a cushioned seat, the room already had a couple pieces of furniture aside from the bed. A surprise was the small walk in closet. The biggest surprise for Echo was the private bath with shower, tub, and vanity sink. In the towel cabinet, Marbles revealed another surprise: a secret passageway leading into the closet.

Back in the bedroom Marbles said,

"I know it isn't much yet-the ivory is just a base coat-but we wanted you to be able to decorate the room how you like."

Words couldn't express Echo's gratitude. Ada saw Echo's lack of words.

"We'll let you get settled, sweetheart." Ada said. Echo nodded and went to her suitcase. Unzipping it, she couldn't find the first thing she wanted to unpack.

"Um…"

"What is it?" Marbles asked, about to leave the room.

"Where's my quilt?"

Marbles looked at Ada.

"There wasn't a quilt on your bed when I packed up your other blanket." Ada said.

Echo looked devastated. She looked down at her hands which sat on her knees. "My grandma made that quilt."

Marbles and Ada quickly swarmed around Echo to soothe her.

"We'll get it back." Marbles assured her. "I've got to go to Symmetria tomorrow. On my way back I'll stop at the orphanage and get your quilt. I have a feeling I know where it is."

Echo looked up at him. "She took it, didn't she?"

Knowing exactly who Echo spoke of, Marbles nodded. "Most likely, yes." Echo frowned. "I'll get your quilt back, baby. Don't worry."

"Okay." Echo agreed.

"In the mean time, why don't you get some of your stuff unpacked while I start dinner?"

"Alright." Echo returned to pulling things out of her suitcase and Marbles left the room with Ada right behind him.

Echo pulled out her clothes and took them into the closet where she hung them on hangers or put them into drawers. She put her shoes in a spot where she'd know where they were. Then she sat some of her things out on the desk and on the little bookshelf, leaving the rest jumbled in the remaining dufflebag at the end of her bed. She took her old laptop out of the old red messenger bag, setting it on the little desk, plugging it in for a charge, not really caring if it needed one or not. Then she sat down on the bed and looked around at her new room.

In the kitchen, Marbles brought out the ingredients he had prepared the night before. He had made good use of the little information sheet that the orphanage had made Echo fill out. Because he had that sheet, he knew Echo's favorite dishes, and was preparing one of them for her first dinner home. Tonight he was making three cheese ravioli with a tangy marinara sauce. As he brought the sauce to a simmer Ada slipped the garlic bread into the oven and tossed the salad.

"At least stay for dinner, love." Marbles begged his beloved.

"I really should be getting home. I've got a lot of projects to work on that I've let slip to the wayside." Ada protested.

"Come on. This is her first dinner in her new home. She deserves to spend it with her family. Her _whole _family. That includes you."

"Oh, alright; you're right, of course." Ada conceded. "Echo needs us to be there for her."

"That's right. Well, everything's about done…"

"You go get Echo. I'll set the table."

Marbles kissed Ada on the forehead and left to get Echo. As she was sitting, Echo had leaned back all the way until she was lying down, her legs from the knee down hanging off the side.

"This isn't another solitary confinement cell. You don't have to spend every waking moment in here."

Echo quickly sat up upon hearing Marbles' voice. Blood rushed to her cheeks, coloring them a dainty pink. Marbles strode over and sat himself on the bed next to his daughter. Echo brushed her hair behind her ear.

"That'll take some getting used to." Echo said softly.

Marbles gently patted Echo on the back. "I'm sure you'll get used to it quicker than you think. Come on, dinner's ready."

Echo followed Marbles to the door. As soon as they had stepped into the hallway, Echo threw her arms around Marbles' torso, squeezing him tightly and burying her face in his chest.

"Thank you . . . for everything."

"Oh honey. . ." Marbles bent down to envelop her in his arms. He was a bit surprised, and happy. This was the first time she had hugged him on her own. He kissed the top of her head. "I only wish I had adopted you sooner."

In the kitchen Ada had already set the table, plates full with salads to the side. Echo's mouth began to water and her stomach rumbled when she saw the contents of everyone's plates. On each plate was a generous helping of ravioli toasted to a perfect golden brown blanketed in a velvety red marinara that promised to be as good as it looked. Paired with the ravioli were a couple pieces of buttery garlic bread. The bowls situated next to the plates were full of fresh green lettuce, croutons, sunflower seeds, and parmesan cheese. Bottles of dressing sat in the middle of the table with the rest of the un-plated food.

Marbles sat at the head of the small rectangular table with Ada to his left and Echo to his right. Most of the dinner time conversation was conducted by either Marbles or Ada, asking Echo questions she had to answer with a nod or a shake of the head when her mouth was too full to answer verbally.

One particular question came from Ada.

"Do you play any instruments, dear?"

Echo had just bitten into a ravioli and cheese was stringing from her face. She quickly broke off the string of cheese and nodded.

"You do?" Ada's voice held a certain level of excitement.

Swallowing, Echo nodded again. "Yeah."

"What do you play?"

"I play several instruments."

"I take it you started learning early?" Marbles asked.

Another nod. "I took my first music lesson at three and a half."

"Impressive! What was your first instrument?" asked Ada.

"The piano."

Ada grinned. "Just like Marbles!"

Echo turned to Marbles. "You play too?"

Marbles smiled. "I do."

"So the baby grand wasn't just for show."

"Nope." Marbles chuckled.

Marbles continually made sure she had plenty to eat, and Echo was more than happy to eat whatever he ladled onto her plate. By the time everyone had cleaned their plates no one had room for dessert. Echo helped load the dishwasher and soon after it was time for Ada to go home. She gave Echo several hugs and kisses then gave Marbles a long kiss before portalling out.

"What's wrong?" Marbles asked, seeing that Echo was still watching the spot where Ada's portal had just vanished. "Oh. Was that your first time seeing a portal?"

"Yeah, it was. But I . . ." Echo trailed off.

"But what, sweetheart? It's okay, you can talk to me about anything."

"I just thought that you two lived together." She said sheepishly.

"Ah." Marbles wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Not quite yet. But one day. . . Now, how about we just relax and watch some TV for a while?"

"'Kay."

Quietly Echo followed Marbles' lead. She sat after he did, keeping very much to herself. This slightly worried Marbles. He had hoped that she wouldn't be as shy about physical touch now that she was home with him. Yet she still kept to herself. As much as he didn't like it, Marbles knew that the best thing would be to just let her be for now. He showed Echo the little binder he had constructed for her, listing all of the channels for the television and how to operate the different entertainment systems in the room all in an organized bundle.

After a while he noticed something. Echo had scooted closer to him. Then she got a little closer and even closer after that. A short time later, Echo was pressed up against Marbles'. He lifted his arm and let her curl up in his side. Tucking her feet up under her, Echo got completely comfy, and Marbles felt her let out a little happy sigh. Rubbing his hand up and down her arm proved to be quite relaxing, and soon Echo was nodding off to dreamland. Marbles gave her a soft shake.

"Sweetie," he said gently, "Go get ready for bed. I'll be in to say goodnight in a bit."

"'Kay." Echo said sleepily. She rose from the couch and padded to her room. She dug through her closet and found that they had bought her some new clothes, including pajamas. She pulled out a pair of polka dot lounge pants and found a tank top and sweat shirt to go with it. Clad in pajamas and with nightly routines done, she climbed into bed and waited for Marbles.

Marbles came in and sat on the side of her bed. He pulled Echo into his arms. Her eyelids were heavy; she wouldn't be able to stay awake much longer. Marbles knew he should make his good night message quick.

"Echo Sidney Glasgow-Shovat, you are my pride and joy. You are the center of my universe. I love you with all my heart and being. You have no idea how thrilled and honored I am to have this chance to have you as a daughter. I love you more than anything in the world. Sleep well, my little angel."


	15. Settling In

**A/N: Hi, guys. First off, I'd like to thank everybody for being so supportive, even during my long period of inactivity. Your kind words do mean a lot. My life has been really, really hectic since my last update. There's been a lot of changes and developments in my personal life that can make it extremely hard to write even just a few sentences. As of now, some things seem to be clearing up. I've overcome an arm injury that made it extremely hard to even hold a pencil, and I've even gotten a small part time job. With my job and school starting soon, once again things will probably go topsy turvy, but I'm going to try to keep churning out paragraphs to the best of my abilities. I know that this chapter is way overdue, I wanted to post on May 25th, the anniversary of the beginning of my collaborating with Tari J. Deiter, or June 8th - Echo's birthday. Obviously that didn't work for me. But, though way overdue, here is chapter fifteen, with a nod to the classic film, "Gone With the Wind". I hope you enjoy it.  
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Picking Up the Broken Glass

Kawaii Stella

Chapter Fifteen

A Brand New Beginning

With Echo soundly sleeping, Marbles pulled the covers up around her and tucked her in. Upon making sure everything was in order, Marbles switched off the lights and left the room

There was no denying it. Marbles was very happy with himself. He had his daughter –_his daughter_! - sleeping under his roof for the first time ever. It was a feeling unparalleled by anything else. His heart swelled and a smile was impossible to keep at bay. Returning to his office, Marbles picked up the camera Ada had used to take his and Echo's photograph. Using his thumb he slipped open the cover to the memory card port. Pressing down on the tiny card caused it to pop out of its slot with a tiny click. From there he inserted the card into his desktop computer and loaded the file, quickly locating the image he sought. Just as he had printed a single copy of the photo, Marbles heard a loud and shrill scream. Echo's scream. Something was very wrong.

Marbles bolted from his desk and sprinted down to Echo's room. Inside the room Echo was flailing in her bed like a salmon caught in a net.

"Echo! Echo! It's okay!" Marbles said, ripping the covers away and shaking her awake.

Echo's eyes snapped open, taking in her surroundings.

"Honey, are you okay?" Marbles asked gently. "What happened?"

"It was just a little nightmare. That's all." Echo said, sitting up to grab the covers back.

"Something I don't believe it was 'just a little nightmare'."

"It was a dream. Nothing more."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Echo looked conflicted. Sitting on the bed, Marbles wrapped an arm around his daughter.

"Echo, what was your dream about?" he asked gently.

"I . . . I felt trapped . . . pinned down." Echo admitted.

"Well, you were tucked in pretty well. What else happened in your dream?"

"It was just a repeat."

"A repeat of what?"

"My first night at the orphanage."

"What happened then?"

"After lights out, two of my roommates pinned me down while the other two beat me up. That was what my dream was about. I could feel it. Every single punch and jab. I could hear it. Every little insult and remark. Same as before . . . all over again. Never ending." Echo's voice cracked.

"Oh, sweetheart." Marbles said sympathetically.

"It still hurts!" Echo cried. "They were beating me up again!'

"It's okay, Echo. You're safe now. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you." Marbles said, having tucked her into his side. His words barely registered with her. She was already in another place, some years ago.

_ "Hey, hey. It's okay. You're safe with me I'm not gonna hurt you. Murdock's your friend, remember?" Murdock said, gently and reassuringly referring to himself in the third person._

_ Echo nodded, her head still throbbing._

_ Murdock held an arm open and Echo curled into his side. Using that arm to hold her to him, he placed his other hand on the top of her forehead and gently rocked. Echo whimpered._

_ "I know it hurts. That's what they do best here. But it's okay. You're not alone. I'm your friend and you can always come to me. I won't do what they do to you. I promise. For right now, you're safe. Relax. Just relax." _

Echo was now feeling the comfort she had then felt with Murdock with Marbles. She did feel safe, and with that comfort, she slowly fell back asleep. Marbles continued to hold Echo even after she had fallen back to sleep. She seemed rather comfy where she was. After a while, though, Marbles did maneuver Echo back onto her pillow. He covered her back up with the comforted but wisely did not tuck her in. He wouldn't make that mistake twice.

Once he was back in his office, Marbles picked up the photo he had printed. After finding a frame to put it in, he retired to his own bedroom. Marbles had an early morning tomorrow, and would need all the rest he could get.

Marbles alarm clock began beeping bright and early at 5:30 AM. From beneath the covers his arm snaked out and forcefully hit the snooze button. Five more minutes was what that would buy him. He lay there, staring at the ceiling. It seemed that Echo had slept peacefully through the rest of the night. Marbles hoped she had. Hopefully she would sleep a little late to catch up on the sleep she had lost at the orphanage.

Rolling over, Marbles squint his eyes at the two photo frames there. As the images came into semi-clarity he smiled. The first photograph was of him and Ada, his arm draped across her dainty shoulders. The second photograph, the one he had printed last night, showed him holding Echo to his chest.

There was no question that Echo made him happy. He just hoped that he would be able to make her as happy as she made him. Marbles hoped that it wouldn't take Echo too long to settle in and establish a routine. He wanted her to be as comfortable as she had been in her home on Earth. Speaking of routines, there was a pot of coffee brewing in the kitchen, and the sooner he got dressed, the sooner he could drink it.

No sooner had he put the ceramic mug to his lips and the scalding drink graced his tongue, Echo appeared in the kitchen entryway. Hair brushed back, Echo was fully dressed; looking ready to go anywhere, even at a quarter to six in the morning.

"Echo, honey, what are you doing up so early?" Marbles asked, setting his mug down on the counter.

"I heard you in here so I figured it was a suitable time to get up." Echo answered.

"It's not even six AM, honey."

"I know."

"How long have you really been up?"

Echo shrugged. "A little while." She pointed to the coffee pot. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all." Marbles said as he pulled down another mug and handed it to her. "I wouldn't have pegged you as a coffee drinker."

"Too many late nights not to be a coffee drinker." She replied, adding milk and sugar to her brew.

"Why so many late nights?"

"Work, mostly."

"What was your job?" Where did you work?"

"I was a barmaid at the Blue Cap Pub."

"A barmaid? Serving beer?" Marbles was shocked.

"Well, yeah. That's what barmaids usually do." Echo said as she sat down with her coffee.

"But you're not even legal to drink! How could you have gotten a job as a barmaid at some dingy pub?"

Echo's eyes shifted, her jewel-toned irises momentarily turning hard as steel.

"Hey. The Blue Cap Pub was _not_ dingy! It's the nicest bar in the glen." Echo said coldly, defending her employer. After a couple of moments, her eyes and tone returned to normal. "I needed the pay. Thom hired me to help me out."

"I see. How old were you when you started working at this pub?"

"Almost ten."

Marbles swallowed even though he hadn't taken a drink of coffee. _Nine years old?_ Echo had been working in a bar from the time she was nine years old? Marbles shook his head. A little girl working her nights away in a pub. What kind of parent let their young daughter work in such a place?

"Why would you need a paycheck at such a young age?" Marbles asked.

"To make ends meet." The simplicity in the way Echo said this as well as the way she shrugged implied that this was no big deal. "Bills had to be paid." She said.

Something was missing from this story. Of this much Marbles was sure.

"Echo, something just doesn't seem right. At nine years old, you shouldn't have been worrying about making ends meet."

"Maybe I shouldn't have had to, but I did. Over the summers I'd live with David, and he was bat at, uh, managing money. I had to work to fill the gaps."

Marbles said nothing to this. He had a feeling in his gut that mismanaging money wasn't Echo's birth father's only "talent". Something told Marbles that David's number one fan certainly wasn't his daughter.

"So, David must have been glad for your help." Marbles said. He hoped that he had found a gentle way of keeping the conversation going.

"David's not the grateful type." Echo said. The slight increase in her accent showed distain towards David – and confirmed Marbles' suspicions.

Rather than keep pushing Echo further into an unpleasant conversation, and into a sour mood, Marbles switched to a different track.

"Now, how about some breakfast, hm?"

Echo nodded and excitedly agreed. Her stomach, despite last night's massive meal, was now rolling like thunder. At a quick pace, Marbles was up and mixing up batter for muffins. Echo stayed in his shadow, watching everything he did with wide eyes. She took in which drawers he pulled open for the cutlery, which rotating stand he pulled mixing spoons out of, and which cabinet held the mixer. A shiny KitchenAid mixer sat on the counter, but Marbles seemed to prefer the smaller, hand held electric mixer.

_Maybe he'll let me cook one of these days._ Echo mused. She was rather excited by that thought. She liked to cook. If she could cook in this warm, open kitchen, this big place might begin to feel a little more like home.

Marbles noticed Echo watching him. He didn't mind it; he wasn't even bothered by it. He liked having her attention. Marbles was especially glad she wasn't shying away from him. Reaching over, he stroked her hair. Echo beamed. This sign of affection was one she was not used to, but she found she liked it very much. David never stroked her hair like this. David never showed her affection, period.

Slipping the muffin tin into the over, Marbles switched on the light inside so they could watch their breakfast rise and turn a fluffy golden brown. As the muffins baked, Echo wandered. She explored the kitchen. Every little nook and cranny met her curious gaze and the touch of the slender, nimble fingers. The more she grew familiar with this room and the things in it, the more Echo found she liked it. This room was warm and open. It was a happy place. Echo could sense that many memories had been made in this room. She wondered how many memories she would make in this kitchen. Hopefully ones better than the ones she had of David's kitchen.

"Cold?" Marbles had seen Echo shudder.

"Ah, no, not really. " Echo put on a smile. "I'm okay."

"Okay." Marbles sat down back at the table. He motioned for Echo to join him. Without hesitation, Echo took her spot back at the table.

Echo took a drink of her coffee, which had cooled considerably.

"What do you have planned for today?" Echo asked Marbles.

"Well, I do have to attend a Grand Cyber Council Meeting at the Cyber Grand Tower" Echo cocked her head. "It's basically a meeting between all the cybersite leaders." He explained.

"Sounds kind of boring." Echo said.

"It definitely can be, it just really depends what's up on the table for discussion. After the meeting I'll go to Sensible Flats to get your quilt back from Abigail."

"Okay. Thanks. That quilt is special. It's pretty much the only thing I have left of home." Echo said quietly.

Leaning across the table, Marbles took Echo's hand. "I know. I'm going to get it back. You still have your other things, too. I'm sure your family put some thought into what they packed for you."

"No, they didn't. They just grabbed a few bags that I had yet to unpack from coming home early. Each one of those bags I packed myself before I hopped home across the pond."

Marbles thought about what this meant, then remembered what Echo's file had said.

"You were in the United States for school."

"Yeah. How'd you know that?" Echo asked, curious to what else Marbles knew.

"It was in your file." Marbles answered.

Oh dear. Echo's stomach flopped. What else had he gotten from her file? Horrendous images from her past rushed through her mind. Echo could feel her hands get clammy. Did Marbles know of her past? Of what she had done and who she had been? It wasn't but a moment later that this fear was eased.

'Honestly, Echo, you're quite a mystery to me. There wasn't a whole lot in your file." Marbles said.

_ There wasn't? Thank God!_ Echo thought "There's not much about me to know." She said, orally.

"I hardly believe that." Marbles told her. "I believe you're a very interesting person. Multifaceted, like a diamond."

Echo blushed. It wasn't every day she was likened to a diamond.

The stove timer began to beep, and it was there that Echo realized that they were surrounded by the mouth watering aroma of the wildberry muffins. Echo's stomach growled fiercely at the scent. Marbles took the golden spongy treats from the over, setting them to cool on the counter.

"So, um, what do you want me to do today while you're gone?" Echo asked. She had been half expecting to be handed a medial list of chores. Instead she was patted on the shoulder.

"Honey, all I want you to do today is to relax. Settle in, explore a little bit. I'm not going to force you to work your fingers to the bone. This is your home, you are free to do as you please. Just take it easy. You are still recovering from some major surgeries, after all."

As if suddenly remembering, Echo rubbed her fingers over the stitches beneath the nice teal sweater.

"You don't even have to dress up every day, Echo. You're free to dress as casually as you want, even if that means staying in pajamas all day. Although, you do look very nice today." Marbles said, kissing his child's hair.

Echo smiled, and her father handed her a plate with a nice, large fluffy muffin. She sad back down at the table and enjoyed their breakfast together. Soon after, Marbles left, promising that he would return as soon as he could.

In his wake, Echo ambled around, almost like a ghost. She haunted the halls, taking in all the details. It would take her a while to memorize her way around the house. Out of everything, Echo kept staring at the floor. The tiles, hard, cold, and polished beneath her feet, took her back to another time and another place.

_The tiles were white. Hard, cold, and polished under their feet, glowing beneath the long fluorescent tubes that lined the ceiling above like paint strips on the Autobahn. The smell in the air was sharp, probably consisting mostly of bleach. Someone was doing a lousy job of properly cleaning the place._

_ H.M.'s voice drifted around her as he guided her down the halls, acquainting her with her new surroundings. Up some old steps they went, coming out onto yet another tile floor. The place gave Echo the chills, and the paper thin pajamas didn't help things at all._

_ "I know it's a big, scary place, but you'll get used to it." H.M. said. _

_ "Really? Murdock, I don't ever see myself getting used to this place." Echo said. _

_ "Well, I mean, I didn't want to scare you . . ." _

_ "I'm already scared!" Echo's eyes became shiny. "I'm thousands of miles from home! They said I just had to come for a secondary evaluation. They didn't tell me I couldn't go home!"_

_ Murdock wrapped Echo in his arms. "I know, honey. Burgh's tricky like that."_

_ "He scares me. A lot of people here scare me. The orderlies, the nurses, the doctors. . ."_

_ "I know, Echo, I know. But there's one here that's not so bad. Not everyone is out to get you."_

_ Echo stared at the tile floor. She wasn't so sure about that. Then again, she'd only been stuck in this place a couple days and Murdock was the only friend she had made so far. And she didn't picture herself making many – if any – more._

_ "I know you're scared, little red, but I promise I'm going to protect you as much as I can. That's the Ranger Way."_

_ Echo looked up at him and Murdock gave her a soft smile. _

_ "Now, how 'bout we go back to the common room and play some checkers?"_

_ "Sure. How do you play checkers?" Echo asked._

_ Murdock chuckled. "I'll show you." Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, Murdock led Echo back downstairs and to the little table with a checkerboard on it. Once she had been seated, Murdock pushed in Echo's chair and then they began._

"I miss Murdock." Echo told the floor beneath her. She wondered if he had written lately. Would anyone ever forward her mail? Or would it just pile up back home?

Echo wandered around a bit more, eventually finding herself back in her room. Plopping down on her bed, Echo realized that she was exhausted. She laid back and swaddled herself in a blanket. Within minutes, she was sound asleep.

The Grand Cyber Council meeting dragged on for what seemed to be an eternity. All matters that had been brought forth for discussion had been petty. Marbles kept finding himself loosing focus. His thoughts kept darting back to Echo. He hoped she was doing okay at home all by herself. He wondered what she was doing. Hopefully she would take a nap at some point. She had been up awfully early. And those nightmares . . . The sooner Marbles could get home to Echo, the better. He didn't want to leave her feeling abandoned. Echo had had enough experience being abandoned, and Marbles never wanted her to have to go through t that again.

At long last, the meeting was adjourned. _Not a moment too soon._ Marbles thought. As quick as he could he escaped that conference room and portalled to his next destination: Sensible Flats.

Coming out right at the orphanage steps, Marbles walked inside.

"Well, well, looks who's back." Abigail leaned over the reception desk, pressing her cleavage far higher than it was probably meant to go.

"Good afternoon, Abigail." Marbles said, keeping his composure calm. "I've come for Echo's quilt."

"Quilt? What quilt?" Abigail feigned innocence.

"Don't play me, Abigail Truehart. I know you have it."

"Do you mean this quilt?" Abigail held up an old, well-loved quilt which had been folded into a neat square. The smirk on her face proved that she kneow well what Marbles sought, and she loved toying with him.

Marbles reached out and grabbed the quilt out of her arms.

"You are despicable! How dare you outright _steal_ a girl's beloved quilt? Do you have no dignity? No shame?" Marbles growled.

"Marbles, baby, I had a perfectly good reason for keeping that quilt here." Abigail cooed.

"I'm sure you do." Marbles rolled his eyes.

"I needed to see you again. I don't believe that it's any secret that I fancy you very much."

"The feeling is not mutual!"

"Oh, now, Marbles!" Abigail whined.

"Don't you even start! You are spiteful, cruel woman. You torture these kids and delight in it! You care more about your own carnal gratification than you do anyone else's wellbeing!" Marbles turned on his heel and walked to the door, Abigail chasing behind.

"I could change!" Abigail pleaded.

"I highly doubt that. But if you did, well, frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."

Marbles slammed the door in Abigail's face and quickly hopped a portal home. The quilt seemed clean, but Marbles wouldn't take any chances. He washed it, and once it was dry he took it to Echo's room, where he draped the warm blanket over his daughter.

In her sleep Echo let out a happy sigh from the sudden, comfortable warmth. Wrapping herself in the blanket, she rolled over and continued to dream. Marbles wondered what she was dreaming about this time. He hoped it was something much more pleasant than her dreams last night. Very gently Marbles stroked Echo's hair, then left her to sleep as we went off to prepare the night's meal.


	16. Beginning Again

**A/N:** Yes, It's been a while since I've updated. There's a reason for this, and it's called life. I've been busy, I've had some ups and downs, and now it's Christmas time. Also, another random arm injury. Probably from work. I dunno. Anyway, here is 16. I thought it would end up short, but it actually turned out at a decent length. The next chapter with probably be longer. Probably. Maybe. We'll see. I was a bit unsure going into this chapter on how much I liked or not, but as I came to the end, I really liked it and I hope you will too.

Picking Up the Broken Glass

Kawaii Stella

Chapter 16

Beginning Again

When Echo woke up it was a quarter to seven in the evening. She felt very rested, albeit famished. After a slow stretch, and happily finding her quilt had been returned, Echo padded barefoot out of her room to find Marbles. She found him in the very same place she had last seen him: the kitchen.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty!" Marbles smiled as Echo walked in. "Did you sleep well?"

"I guess." Echo said. "Better than last night, at least."

"Good."

"Thanks for getting my quilt back." Echo said as she sat down. "I hope Truehart didn't give you too much trouble."

"She didn't. No more than usual, at least."

"I see." Echo paused. "What's for dinner?"

"Beef stroganoff. I hope that's okay."

"Sounds good to me. I'm pretty hungry."

"You didn't eat lunch today, did you?"

"No." Echo sheepishly admitted. "I wandered around a little but and then slept the rest of the day."

Smiling softly, Marbles patter Echo's shoulder. "That's alright. You needed the rest. Did you remember to take your medicine?"

"I took it right after breakfast."

"Good girl." Marbles kissed the top of Echo's head before heading back to the stove to pop the biscuits into the oven.

Echo leaned back in her chair. She seemed to have run out of things to say, or maybe she was lost in thought. Marbles couldn't tell. After several minutes, Marbles took the biscuits out of the oven and put them in a basket with a red cloth liner. He asked Echo to set the table as he checked on the main dish. Echo set the table rather quickly, although Marbles did notice that her movements were rather stiff as she reached up to pull down the plates.

Easy, sweetheart." Marbles gently warned. "You're still healing."

Echo scowled. She used to be strong. Used to be. Now she was useless and weak. She couldn't hold her own anymore. Her bravery had gone, and her muscle mass was following suit. Echo bet that if her team saw her like this, they wouldn't want her back.

"Echo, sweetie, it's okay." Marbles said, seeing the upset in Echo's soft features.

Echo just shook her head and sat down at the dinner table. Marbles follower her, sat down in the chair besides her, and tenderly puller her into his warm embrace.

"There, there, you'll be alright." He said, stroking her hair.

"No, I won't." Echo squeaked, her vulnerability crashing over her like a monsoon.

"Yes, you will. You're recovering at a very good pace. You'll be up and running again soon. Good as new."

"I'll never be good as new. I'm too messed up, too broken."

It suddenly occurred to Marbles that Echo wasn't just concerned by her physical wounds. It was the emotional ones hurting her the deepest. Her pain hurt him. Marbles had only seen a fraction of the pain Echo was in. An image of that noose flashed before his eyes. He couldn't even begin to fathom how deep her pain really went.

"Echo, baby," Marbles struggled to find the right words. "You're not 'too broken'. Sure others may have left their mark, caused a few cracks and chips, but that does not make you any less of a person. You're still beautiful and amazing in every single way. The Japanese have this tradition, when a bowl or vase is broken, they don't replace it or throw it away. They seal the cracks with gold. Do you know why?"

Echo shook her head.

"It is because they believe that when something has suffered damage and has a history, it becomes more beautiful. You may have suffered great damage in the past, Echo, but you've survived it. And that will, that strength to survive, makes you all the more beautiful."

Echo was stunned into silence. She had never heard of such a tradition before. She thought it was beautiful. And to still be considered a person, a _beautiful_ _person_, despite all her broken pieces, gave her a very warm feeling inside.

Brushing away her tears with his thumbs, Marbles kissed Echo's forehead. "You're perfect just the way you are, baby girl. Don't ever forget that."

Echo enjoyed dinner. The food, flavorful and hearty, warmed her from her head to her toes. The closeness to Marbles was nice. Nearly forgotten to Echo was how nice it felt to not eat alone. Marbles seemed pleased that Echo asked for seconds, and finished every bite. After losing those twenty three pounds to GUILT and being starved, Echo needed all the food she could get. Gaining that weight back was important to her health.

After declaring she was stuffed – whilst still nibbling on a biscuit – Echo helped clear the table, load the dishwasher, and put the leftovers in the fridge. Marbles smiled as he watched his daughter move about the kitchen. She was a good girl. Why anyone would give up such a good kid like her he would never understand. Their loss was his gain.

As they had done the night before, Marbles and Echo settled down on the couch to watch television. Echo covered her lap with a throw and got comfortable. Marbles switched the TV on, and wrapped an arm around his daughter. Curling up close, Echo let herself unwind. She was safe here. She was loved. This was different from how is was on Earth, and Echo liked it, until she thought about it.

On Earth, Echo had never been this closer or comfortable with her birth father. They had never cuddled. David had never hugged her nor kissed her nor told her he loved her. Marbles was her father now, and he did do those things. But he had done those things while he was just her friend, too. Were things supposed to be different, now? Echo knew all too well when she got into too close of a proximity to David, and that's the last thing she wanted to go through again. Echo scooted away from Marbles, hoping this was an acceptable distance. Knowing that Marbles could break bones, Solomon Quinn's hand was proof of that, and Echo did _not_ want to piss him off.

Was Echo uncomfortable? Marbles wondered when she moved away from him. Instead of curled up, tucked into his side, Echo was sitting a good foot away now, upright and stiff as a board. She had her eyes trained on the television set, but Marbles knew the look in her eyes. She was a million miles away. What was going through that head of hers? Was she in pain? Had he done something to make her uncomfortable?

"Echo. . ." Marbles began, reaching over to touch Echo's arm. When every muscle in her small body tensed as he touched her, he knew something was wrong. "Echo, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Echo said.

"Yes, there is. I can tell. You're tense, honey. What's wrong, are you in pain? Did I make you uncomfortable?"

"No."

"Then what is it?"

Echo was silent. But one split-second glance in Marbles' direction told her that he expected an answer. Sighing, Echo tried her best to word what was going through her mind.

"I'm not. . . good . . . at being a daughter. I'm not used to _this_." Echo gestured with her hands, words evading her.

"Honey, that's ludicrous. You're a wonderful daughter. Why would you say something like that?" Marbles didn't have a good feeling about where this was going.

"Because . . . things weren't like this with my birth father." Echo admitted.

"What do you mean?"

"We weren't, um, close." Echo decided that was a good way to word it. "We didn't hug or cuddle or anything like that."

"Not at all?"

"Never."

Marbles was shocked. What kind of parent didn't show a lot of affection to their child? Yes, he did know that Echo's birth mother and father had never been married, and that Echo spent most of the time with her mother. Echo's file had said that much. But in his mind, that would have been all the more reason for Echo's father to shower her with affection during the short times he did have her.

"That's all I know from him. I thought that . . .that that's how daughters are supposed to behave. I didn't know that this affection was normal." Echo continued. "Or, rather, I didn't' know how to react to it."

"Oh . . . Echo. No. I don't know what went on between you and your birth father, but, please, let me assure you that it's normal for a father to show affection to his child. It was wrong of him to deprive you of that."

David had deprived her of a lot of things. Picking at the throw, Echo bit her cheek as she thought. Marbles wasn't like David. Marbles had promised to never hurt her. He had promised to help get her through this, and he had. He kept his promises, unlike David.

Echo relaxed, and leaned over to rest her forehead on Marbles' arm. Eyes closed, she said, "I'm just not used to it."

"You will." Marbles stroked Echo's hair. "Do you like the hugs?"

Echo nodded. She loved hugs. They were warm and friendly and safe. Hugs were the ultimate form of comfort. Hugs had held her together in some of her darkest hours. As Marbles wound his arms around her, she smiled. Squeezing her firmly yet gently, Marbles made her worries go away. For Echo to just let go of her fears for this moment was wonderful. She curled up against her father's chest and held tight to him. It was in that moment that it began to sink in. She had a _father who loved her_!

Later that evening, after Echo had begun to get ready for bed, Marbles came into her room, a basket in his arms. When Echo came out of the bathroom, dressed in a pair of pink pajamas, she seemed surprised.

"What's that?" she asked.

"It's for you." Marbles said, motioning for Echo to sit on the bed. He sat down next to her and sat the basket in her lap. "I meant to give this to you last night, but with getting you home and everything, I forgot. I had hoped that this could maybe help you settle in. Make this big place feel like home."

Echo started to pull things out of the basket, looking through the various things. There was a blanket, woven with a soft pink fabric. A sweatshirt, oversized just enough to be perfectly comfy. There was a tin that held a variety of teas and a cute mug to go with it, a box of chocolates, and a tin of pencils and a large sketch pad. Echo smiled as she examined each one. Marbles knew her better than she thought. The only things remaining were three gift wrapped packages which had piqued her interest from the very beginning.

"Go ahead, open them." Marbles encouraged, very pleased that Echo liked her gifts.

Taking the smallest package, Echo opened it first, breaking out into the hugest grin when she saw what it was.

"It's my clan tartan!" Echo gasped, running her fingers over the red, blue, and green lambswool scarf.

"I'm glad it's the right one. While I was looking I found a few different Glasgow tartans. I had no idea there were so many tartans out there." Marbles admitted.

"Sure, there's a tartan for just about everything." Echo said, still fondling the scarf. "Every clan has one, and they take pride in it."

Smiling, and extremely pleased he had chosen the correct tartan – the last thing he ever wanted to do was insult his daughter – he pushed the other two wrapped packages towards Echo.

Echo took the next box and tore off the paper. At this gift her eyes widened. It was a brand new tablet.

"It's all ready to go, charged and preloaded with some data and apps, but still fully customizable so you can use it however you want." Marbles told her.

"Wow. . ." Echo opened the box and took out the thin and sleek tablet. Beneath the tablet in the box was its charger, a stylus, screen protectors, and an instruction manual.

"I know you've got a laptop, but I thought that a tablet would be easier to tote around when you didn't feel like carrying your laptop around."

"Thank you. This is really nice." Echo said, sitting the tablet in her lap. If she couldn't sleep tonight, she definitely would be playing with this.

"One more." Marbles said, taking the tablet and setting the last gift in Echo's lap.

Echo opened the gift quickly, and what she saw made her heart skip a beat and the air leave her lungs. She understood now, why the sketchbook specifically said on its cover that its pages worked well with alcohol-based inks. This was a whole case of alcohol-based markers. A full seventy-two marker set. The kind she always drooled over in the store but couldn't afford. Ivan would buy her a few markers here and there, especially if he thought she'd get upset over something he'd messed up. But this, this was a whole set!

"This . . .this is amazing!" Echo looked up at her father, her green eyes blazing with excitement.

Marbles grinned. "The lady told me that the Copics were good, so that's what I got."

"Good? They're the best!" Echo exclaimed. She took a marker out of the box and examined it with reverence.

"Your art is some of the best I've ever seen, Echo, and I want you have the best tools to express yourself and use your amazing talent." At this Echo blushed. Marbles chuckled and stroked her hair. "I mean it, honey. You're amazing. I can't wait to see what you create with those."

"It's been a while since I've drawn." Echo admitted. "I think it will feel good to be creative again."

"I bet it will." Marbles said. "Now, get some rest. Tomorrow's going to be a big day."


End file.
